Avatar: The Kaiser Phoenix
by Sir-Shun
Summary: Book 1: Black Flame. Iroh is gone, Azula is back, Ozai has a plan, and the once again fallen prince is left with nothing... almost. Will he ever be able to find peace? New allies, Old friends, and a lot of adventures for our favorite firebender.
1. A Bad Day

**Avatar: The ****Kaiser Phoenix**

**Book of the Black Flame**

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_Summary: __He thought that all it ever took to set things right in the world was the defeat of Lord Ozai; boy was he wrong! Azula usurps the throne in a brilliant coup, and the fallen prince is left with nothing... well, almost nothing. Something awakens in Zuko that world hadn't seen for centuries. An ancient power linked to the heritage of his ancestors that may very well save the Fire Nation... but he must survive first! Meeting new allies, trying to prevent a war that could very well engulf the world, rallying old friends, facing the darkness... Yep, it ain't easy being on the run – again. Action/Adventure_

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**Disclaimer:** Avatar was an awesome show. The third season finale... not so much, but hey! Who am I to complain! Anyways, you know the drill: Only the OCs and the ideas are mine, the rest belongs to Nick.

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**1. ****A Bad Day**

"_Bad day? Try yesterday: you know the day I practically lost everything? Now __**that**__ was a bad day."_

**Zuko**

He could feel it in his bones. It had probably something to do with his mood when he woke up, or the fact that he couldn't find his slippers, or that he remembered the nightmare he had; but whatever it was, that something told him it would be one of those days. In his young life, the young man had had too much of those. For a moment, he hid under his blankets: maybe he could just call in sick and sleep through it. He knew better though. One way or another it would come back to bite him in the ass: it always did.

The boy got out of his bed and dressed in sleeping robes, he stepped into his balcony. The sun had barely gotten up. The view was breathtaking; the touches of orange, red, and gold upon the city cloaked in shades of indigo and blue turned the boy's scowl into a small grin. A normal sunrise in a normal city for a normal boy… Except for the fact that he was the current Fire Lord.

It had only been six months since the crowning, but Zuko felt like he had been the head of his country for a lifetime already. A few years back, he would have hidden his doubts about the throne behind a curtain of anger and contempt. Back then, he himself didn't believe in his father's promise, but he still did everything he could. That's all he could do. And it paid, more or less; due to his fated encounter with the Avatar and his help in the war, he was now the most influent man in the world – besides Aang.

Yet after everything was said and done the young Fire Lord felt depressed. He had few people to share his joy with; uncle Iroh had returned to his tea shop in Ba Sing Se. As for the rest of the fire nation… he'd rather not talk about it. The worst part was the absence of his other friends: Aang, Sokka, Katara… he hadn't seen them since the party in Ba Sing Se. No news from them either. He had tried sending letters, but either due to their schedule or their indifference, no replies had come back.

He was brought back from his morose musings by the voice of his chamberlain.

"My lord, former general Iroh is waiting for you."

A pleasant surprise, maybe this day wasn't going to be so bad, after all. The boy quickly got dressed and greeted his mentor who was standing in the throne's waiting room.

"I hope you have slept well, my lord." said the retired general as he bowed curtly.

The teen made a face when he heard Iroh's tone. "Please uncle, call me Zuko."

Iroh looked serious for a moment. "Fire Lord Zuko, you know the imperial court has its etiquette; you more than anyone should abide by them."

The boy snorted, and his scowl deepened when he saw his reflection in a nearby mirror. "Do they include the clothes? 'Cause they make me look like an idiot."

His uncle couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess that's true." He led his nephew to the gardens. "So… what will you do today?" he asked as they walked.

Zuko sighed. "There is a council today. There was one only two days ago as well." Iroh raised an eyebrow, but the young man made no further comments.

His councils were… stressful to say the least. Every time, he had to deny war proposals and wade through hours of argumentation before they could come to the real issues. Problem was by the time they arrived there, there was almost no time left; which led to little deliberation, a few hasty judgments and many angered nobles. Take a wild guest who they were angry at.

"I don't think I can take much more of this, uncle." he admitted sadly.

The man put a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Hang in there, nephew; you are doing fine. You know that change will never come easily."

"Believe me uncle I know." He raised his hands helplessly. "But this is more than mere stubbornness. If I didn't know better..."

He stopped himself and looked around, slightly nervous. There had been attempts on his life already – poorly executed; they were underestimating him. In the end it was just another problem to add to his list of anxiety inducers. No use telling his uncle about this; he had deserved his time of rest. Besides, it was quite ironically the only situation he had under control, and that took his mind out of another more upsetting matter: if things were so bad within inside of the Fire Nation, what was becoming from the world outside?

_Man, what I __wouldn't give to see Aang again, _thought the royal teen.

When Aang had finally defeated his father he had advised, requested, almost begged his allies to leave some of the earth kingdom and water tribes within the nation for stability purposes, but it was brushed away. Willing to work through that refusal, he tried to established good relations with the other territories, but all he got was the cold shoulder. He knew that they would need sometime for peace to truly set on the world, but after six months there wasn't even a shadow of step forward. Zuko had seen too many bad things happen around him not to suspect something more worrying going on. Not Aang though; he was too stu- naïve to have ill intentions against the Fire Nation.

Seeing his unease, his uncle's face darkened "Say no more, nephew: It seems we share the same worries."

Zuko looked a bit sad. Even so far away from here his uncle couldn't escape his duty: probably the White Lotus. They spent a few moments, both lost in their thoughts. "Any news from your friends?" asked the Fire Lord.

The retired general sighed. "I'm afraid not: and yet things are not as peaceful as they appear." His face was now completely serious. "I fear my suspicions were confirmed: Water and Earth did not withdraw for pacific reasons."

Zuke smiled grimly: his uncle voicing his worries so clearly and confirming his suspicions left him in bitter state. "Of course not; that would mean somebody out there actually likes me."

Iroh raised his eyebrows "Nephew!"

"It's true uncle!" whined the young man. "I have the whole nobles – not to mention the fire sages – against me; the outside world practically hates everything that has to do with the fire nation." He paused, trying to calm down. "Just saying the words 'Fire Lord' has them ready to draw blood." Zuko lowered his head. "Really uncle, if it wasn't for you and Mai..."

Iroh looked at the boy that was like a son to him. He really looked tired. Now that he thought about it, it was a heavy burden to put on the shoulders of a boy that went through so much already. And here he was relaxing and brewing tea. Well, not only that… still, perhaps he should think of prolonging his stay... maybe a couple of years. The Jasmine Dragon would understand, right?

In the mean time...

"And where is that charming lady today?" he asked, trying to find the future Fire Lady.

"She left to see her family." He answered.

Zuke gaze became distant. Mai had only left yesterday and already he felt she was gone way too long. She had become much more than a simple girlfriend during the last months; she was his pillar, the only person he could trust and confide in. When there was only one person in the whole fire nation that didn't think you were either weak or crazy, you tended to appreciate her.

Iroh sighed as he looked at his nephew. He could see this was hard on the poor lad. "Lord Zuko, stay firm. Right now is a crucial moment for the Fire Nation. After a hundred years of war, it's finally time to lower the arms and restore balance to the world. We must not let that chance slip."

"Yeah... now try to tell them that."

Iroh smiled. "They will be convinced eventually. Fortunately for us, we have plenty of time."

Zuko shrugged half-heartedly. "If you say so uncle."

Neither of them really smiled though; they both knew better.

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"Now is the perfect time to attack, my liege."

Zuko almost slapped his forehead as he listened to the high ranking officer. Was he a general or an admiral? He always forgot._ Agni! What did I do to deserve this? _He then remembered all the time he spent chasing the avatar._ Oh, right...that must have pissed every spirit off._

"Our main forces only suffered a small loss, and even though Ba sing Se has been lost, we still hold a strategic position within the Earth kingdom." pressed "A double surprise attack against the Southern tribe and the western Earth dominions and...—"

"We are _not_ declaring another war." Declared the Fire Lord for the umpteenth time

That remark effectively shut down the man, in question, but another one, not part of the military this time, furthered his predecessor's musings.

"My prince, I understand you did not want to act in front of our enemies, but now is the time to strike."

The young lord eyed the noble. "And go back on the truce? And go back on my word? And go back on my _honor_?"

The man flinched. _Good_, thought Zuko, at least the guy had some kind of shame. The prince had already given, sacrificed so much to regain that honor; there was no way he would that away again, especially for something he didn't believe in.

"The Avatar is my friend," he added, "I will not betray him."

This stopped any eventual suggestions... at least until the next council. He wondered what his men expected. Did they really think he would change his mind from one meeting to another? What would have changed by then? Unless... they knew something he didn't. He shook his head; his paranoia was acting again. While there were assassinations attempts, they were too sloppy to have come from people with such influence. If that was that case he'd have a lot more to worry about. Feeling he had gained the control of the flow, he changed topic.

Zuko changed the topic. "How about we focus on something more pressing? I want a third of our infantry around our borders."

"Are you planning an expansion my lord?" said a hopeful council member "That would be—"

"I am _planning_ to defend our colonies against bitter Earth and Water soldiers who would think the war is not quite over yet." cut in Zuko, causing the man to blush and shrink on his chair. "In case you haven't noticed, the Fire Nation doesn't look so smug to the rest of the world. Let's try to focus on keeping our people safe from self-righteous avengers before anything else."

"My Lord, on that subject, what do you plan to do with our colonies? Surely the Earth Kingdom won't rest until they get their territories back."

Zuko glanced at the officer who had spoken. He knew the man, one of his father's partisans. He looked cool enough, but couldn't hide the small shadow of a grin that fought its way near the edge of his lips. It was obviously a trap in order to make him look incompetent. The Fire Lord gave him a smile of his own; if he thought this lord hadn't done his homework he was sadly mistaken.

"Those lands are neither the Fire Nation's nor the Earth Kingdom's;" Zuko replied. "It's the people's land. We'll let them decide where their allegiance resides."

The man's grin came out at last. "And you think those earth peasants won't choose their own country instead of the glorious Fire Nation."

"You'd be surprised." said Zuko indifferently.

What the Ozai supported ignored was that the young man had already paid a visit to the colonies. Preparation had even been made to settle the colony in a settlement in the outskirts of town, and both the Fire nation colony and the Earth Kingdom refuges would be getting their own guard. However, Zuko was relying on the difference between Earth kingdom culture and Fire Nation technology, which was frankly quite big. The earth villagers wouldn't have time to neither revert to their old farming methods nor learn the new ones before harvest; as such they would have to rely on the new residents.

"The men coming home will probably have no choice but to come themselves after us for our superior tools and metals once they try them out. And if they intend to make deals with us... let's just say they'll be soon requiring our protection as well." The former Fire Lord partisan scowled. Zuko smiled. "If you're looking for expansion, how about we do it the right way? It requires less bloodshed and is _a lot _more productive. They'll practically be working for us."

This time murmurs of approbation could be heard amidst the discussions. The Fire Lord couldn't help but smile. A small victory, but more importantly, it seemed he was starting to get through them. Maybe uncle was right.

This time another noble spoke. "My liege, if I may... what are your intentions towards the previous Fire Lord and lady Azula?"

For once, Zuko was stumped. "That's... an actually pretty good question."

Trap or not, the fate of his family was a delicate affair. While his Uncle was incarcerated, he had been a good prisoner, and nobody at the time expected him to cause an incident – big mistake there. His father however, was currently the biggest threat to the Nation. His nobles and officers might have world conquest issues, but even they were afraid of Fire Lord Ozai during his reign. That was probably the reason Zuko thought they wouldn't try to get rid of him. As for Azula, she was at least as dangerous as her father, but for different reasons. Since their Agni Kai, she hadn't been the same. She was an armed weapon ready to strike: nobody could even come close to her without risking their lives. He knew; he had tried.

"Might I suggest execution?" said the Ozai partisan from earlier.

Zuko smiled dryly. _Of course you would: I'd be the one to get my hands dirty ._"Not an option." He answered flatly. "Exile... that could be nice, but I'd pity the poor land they'd want to flee to."

This got a few chuckles and savage grins from the audience.

"My Lord, they cannot be kept in containment for long." reminded one of the council members.

"I know." He sighed. "Anything else?"

This time it was the Fire Sages delegate who rose. "We thought about the current situation and we thought it might best for you if you had a bodyguard."

The young man blinked. "A bodyguard?"

"Though it didn't look like it, lady Azula had many, and so did the previous Fire Lord." explained the sage. Zuko nodded: he remembered Ty Lee and Mai, and later on the Dai Li. "The times are changing, my lord, and some people could try to use this opportunity to... rise in position."

"And you wouldn't." he said mockingly.

There wasn't one person in this council who didn't think of themselves first – including him; at least he considered everybody else's concern as well. That, for some reason wasn't received as well he thought – which was poorly. _What's up with them?_ he asked himself. The confusion probably reflected on his face, because an officer answered his musing.

"With all due respect my lord, you are quite young." The Fire Lord frowned, but the officer continued regardless. "Or maybe you haven't taken a good look at our archives: you have no idea of what was the fire nation during the era when Fire Sages were the rulers." The Fire Sage present huffed, but said nothing. "We need a Fire Lord, and Sozin's Line was amongst the most powerful firebenders ever recorded. Whatever happens, we will remain loyal to that dynasty."

That did sound true enough… though they never said they'd be loyal to _him_.

"Very well" conceded Zuko, "I will make arrangements and look for one."

"No need, my lord; we have found the perfect man for this position." said the same man.

He glanced through his council. Did all of them really decide on that bodyguard? He'd have to be on his toes. "Fine; I will see later. Anything else?"

Thankfully, the rest of the discussions went smoothly as well.

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Zuko was currently looking at a boy about his age. The young man was kneeling, his head down. He didn't really have any distinguishing feature aside from his sword. _So not a firebender,_ thought the Fire Lord. Oh well; might as well interview him anyway; it's not like he would need anyone else firebending for him.

"So you're my new bodyguard, huh?" he said after some more thoughts.

"My lord." replied the boy as he rose.

"Let's get acquainted, then." said Zuko. "Who are you?"

The swordsman gave him a military salute before answering. "My name is Khan, my lord: I am but a soldier who participated in the war."

"Infantry?"

"Yes, as a swordsman."

Well the stupidly obvious was out of the way; it was time to really start the interview.

"Your credentials?" asked the royal teen.

"I am the most accomplished student of master Zhen, and I have been able to best him as of late."

"Is that so?" The boy had talent if he could beat one of the best swordsmen of the Fire Nation.

"I had the honor of crossing swords with master Piando as well." he added.

Zuko nearly jumped out of his seat. "Master Piando" the man of legends himself! "...And?" he pressed.

"I lost." admitted the bitter young man. "He said I showed promise."

Zuko smiled. "Any warrior praised by master Piando is more than qualified for the job. There is one more thing however:" he stopped smiling. "Can I trust you?" he asked more to himself than to his new employee.

The soldier looked confused. "Beg your pardon, my lord?"

"Your family, swordsman?" he asked more firmly.

He hesitated a bit, unsure of what to answer. "The Lao clan, my lord."

"Good." That clan was known throughout the Fire Nation as having few ambitions, but most importantly, a fierce loyalty towards the throne. "Who is the current Fire Lord?"

"You are my lord." he answered unwaveringly.

"'Just making sure." He paused thoughtful. "And who… who am I?"

The swordsman was even more confused. "You are... the Fire Lord?"

"No! I mean—" he stopped himself and took a deep breath; they weren't going to get along if he blew a fuse every time his bodyguard didn't get it. "Look. Do you know who I am?" he asked honestly. "The man behind the Fire Lord, I mean." Seeing no light in the young man's eyes, he added "Did you know I was... exiled?"

Khan understood meaning behind Zuko's words and tried to recall all the information he had on his future employer. "I know about the banishment. But the circumstances and what happened after that is unclear. Not many news get carried during the war, my lord."

Zuko sighed. "Of course." He looked at the man again. He did seem trustworthy, and was part of the Lao clan. "Listen, if we are to work together, you'll have to be more than a bodyguard to me. I'll have you be my arm as well. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes sir."

Zuko smiled. "Good. Let's talk."

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"How is he?" asked the Fire Lord.

"Still the same as usual." replied the guard. "Doesn't talk much, but he smiles; that he does a lot." The man shuddered understandably so.

"What about the other tenant?" He went on.

The guard shrugged. "Still... you know?" and lifted his hand to make a significant motion around his temple.

Zuko had to lower his head at the news. That his little sister, the genius, would end up like this... Still, "I suppose things are better this way." he admitted.

Without any other words, the guard motioned his coworker to open the gates, and the Fire Lord found himself immediately surrounded by soldiers. He didn't bother trying to visit his sister: last time they had nearly killed each other; even in that crazed state, she could still bend lightning. Instead, he was escorted to southern wing of the prison, the place where they kept the dangerous criminals – the ones who couldn't firebend. At the end of hall was a room specially made for prisoners of noble blood. Other than the fact that it was a single person cell, it looked like every other one.

A man was sitting there. Not on the small bed, but slumped against a wall. When he heard the footsteps his head shot up and he saw the royal procession. A derisive grin appeared on his face. He stood up, retaining a small portion of his grandeur even if the loss of his firebending had somewhat broken him.

"Well, Well, greetings, my lord." One couldn't help but notice the venom behind that greeting.

"Father." The lord then signaled to his escort to wait outside. "You know why I'm here." he stated flatly.

His father leisurely sat on his bed, ignoring the protocol. "Yes, I suppose I do, don't I? After all, you've been coming here quite regularly." His mocking quickly turned to contempt. "It would make any father proud, if you weren't such a failure!"

Zuko gave him a cruel grin of his own. "It seems you have been kept here for too long; you forget who is on the other side of those bars: the _Fire Lord_, with his firebending _intact_."

The older man suddenly grew impatient. "Yes, and what good will that amount to if you're not using it! You've wasted Sozin's comet!" he nearly shouted. "Power like which we will never have for another century to come, and you ruined it! Yet, even now you do not plan to invade or to conquer. It seems my brother's softness really rubbed on you."

The way he added that last part made steam come out of his son.

"I will not allow you to sully that name!" he said as flames came out of his mouth. "He has been a better father than you ever have!"

For a small instant, Zuko saw a flash of regret on his father's face. It was gone so quick the young man had to wonder if he hadn't dreamed. It would be the most plausible explanation as well; his father had always classified him a failure. He would die a thousand deaths before admitting he was wrong.

His father closed his eyes, pensive. "He has, I can see that."

Zuko nearly choked and stepped back. Did he hear what he had just heard from Fire Lord Ozai? That couldn't be! There must have been a trap laid somewhere. Maybe he wasn't even talking to his father, maybe there was a conspiracy going on and the self proclaimed Phoenix King escaped, leaving a double instead.

In any case, the man went on. "But it's not too late for you, son: let me guide you. The Fire Nation can rise from its ashes like the Phoenix."

No, there he was again with his phoenix talk: Definitely his father. Zuko narrowed his eye; the other one was always narrowed for obvious reasons. "What's in it for me?" he accused, rather than asked, "One step out of that prison and I probably won't make it through the day."

His father didn't seem to particularly care about that accusation and offered a compromise. "Then keep me here. I can live with being the shadow lord... for now." Zuko stiffened. "Just listen to me; you could—"

"The only reason I ever came here was to know about mother." Cut in Zuko, getting fed up with his father's schemes.

"And I could tell you everything you need to know about... her current whereabouts," he promised sweetly. "_If_ you listen to me."

Zuko sighed. "I am tired of this game, father. I will not ask you again: where is Ursa?"

Ozai looked at his son with equal intensity. "Be mine and you will have your answer."

The Fire Lord stepped back, disappointed and emotionally drained, but still in control. "You had your chance." he said finally.

"So did you." replied Ozai.

The young man knew his father too well not to feel threatened by his father's last retort. Still he reigned in his emotions and headed for the door. "Goodbye father."

"See you soon, son." replied the man mysteriously. He was smiling.

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The time he spent in the company of his father was enough to throw Zuko in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He couldn't figure if he was more anxious about his father's parting words or more depressed he wouldn't have any further occasions of questioning him about his mother. Fortunately, his prison visit was the last thing on his schedule and so the Fire Lord could freely evacuate all that pent up anxiety on what he liked to do best: Fire Katas.

The Dancing Dragon was always the first set of forms he went through. Following suit were the traditional movements he had been taught by his uncle, and then came some things he wanted to try. His uncle had told him one day one couldn't call himself a true master until he improved on what he had learned; he hadn't the natural talent of his sister however, so coming with new moves was hard.

After working a considerable amount of sweat, Zuko retreated to his room. The day had been tiring. Not quite what he expected, but he had seen better days. He slept early that night because tomorrow he'd decide on what to do with his father. The day was probably more demanding than he thought because as much as he wanted, he couldn't seem to get some shut eye. After a while he got out of bed: maybe a walk would calm his nerves.

The first thing he noticed was the eerie silence. After a moment he was shocked by the absence of guards within the vicinity. Whatever was happening, it did not bode well. He quickly went back to his room in order to get his twin Dao – and change in something less cumbersome. Next he silently marched along the walls in order to find the source of his unease. He smiled bitterly: he wondered what people would say if they could see their Fire Lord moving like a thief in his own palace.

He was nearing the royal gardens when a hand closed his mouth and dragged him into a hallway. Zuko was already prepared to burn the fool to cinders when he recognized the familiar odor of tea.

"Uncle?" he said, surprised. "What—"

"Nephew! Thank goodness!" whispered Iroh.

Zuko was now even more worried thanks to his uncle's sudden relief. The boy lowered his tone. "What's wrong uncle? What the hell is going on here?"

A third voice filled with urgency joined the conversation. "We must, run! Now!"

"Khan!" Zuko was glad to find he could count on his new bodyguard, but he had hoped not to rely on his aid so soon.

"It's a coup, my lord:" explained the swordsman, "soldiers are camped at the exits and the guards are nowhere to be found. We must flee."

Well, it did sound like something was definitely going wrong, but it wasn't a coup d'état, that was certain enough. The Fire Nation's internal politics didn't dab in the subtle. No… this was too calm, too peaceful.

_An assassination_, thought the Fire Lord. And one well executed at that, if the perpetrators had the whole royal guard under their belt. _Note to self: __**this**__ is what it's like when powerful foes try to get rid of you._ His uncle probably thought the same judging by the relief seen on his face when he found his nephew… alive. He glanced at his bodyguard: the chances he was part of this plan were pretty high. He shook his head; he'd just have to trust him… for now.

The trio stealthily crossed the garden and headed further in the palace. There was a secret exit behind the throne itself, an exit only the royal members knew of. Iroh and Zuko knew this was their only option if they wanted to avoid conflict. In order to be sure they wouldn't be followed, Zuko started a fire within one of the royal chambers; the room crumbled in a startling explosion. When they heard the footsteps of the soldiers they darted for the throne. When they entered they were welcomed by a group of cloak wearing masked men. They looked behind them: soldiers were blocking their only way to escape.

"Trapped." murmured his uncle before assuming a firebending stance.

The scarred teen and his bodyguard also got ready to fight their way to the exit. After a tense moment, one of the cloaked figures stepped up. He was smaller than the others, yet from the looks of it, this one lead the whole operation. His confident walk denoted noble birth.

Whoever that was Zuko wanted to know his name; he at least wanted to know who he'd bring with him to the spirit world.

"Who are you?" he shouted angrily.

The leader took off her mask. Zuko wouldn't have been more shocked if it had been Ozai himself under that cloak. Despite all his rage, he was forced to step back as an irrational fear overcame him.

"That can't be!" he managed to say.

"By the spirits!" let out his uncle.

The girl simply chuckled. "Zuzu," she slurred, "how mean of you! Not even bothering to greet your own sister."

There was no mistaking that dangerously sweet voice or that mocking tone. "Azula?" he said in disbelief. "That can't be! You're... you're...?"

"Unstable?" she finished for him, "Crazy? Mad? Oh poor, _poor_ Zuzu;" her grin grew into a full blown malevolent smile. "always the empathic twat. How... pitiful. Of course I was faking it. Still you should have visited."

"I did; you almost killed me!" he said, rage steadily coming back.

"Oh yeah…" she let out obliviously, and then smiled again "What fun it was!"

"But our last duel—" tried Zuko.

"Was an utter shame." She tried sounding nonchalant, but the venom in her voice betrayed her emotions when remembering the day she failed oh, so spectacularly. "I wasn't in the best state of mind, I admit." She took a fighting stance. "How about we make up for it?

Zuko was more than happy to oblige; last time she had played dirty and he nearly died redirecting lightning that wasn't meant for him. Funny that same waterbender had now abandoned him to the Fire Nation wolves. He shook his head: he had to focus, one moment of distraction against Azula meant death.

The young firebender walked towards his sister and they both circled each other, waiting for an opening or an attack. Finally, Azula let out a blue streak out of her two fingers, proof she hadn't lost one bit of her edge. Zuko dispersed the flames and was ready to counterattack when he felt flames coming from his back. He only had the time to shield his face when the fireball connected.

"Zuko!" shouted his uncle.

The impact threw him against the wall where he crumpled. Iroh, now enraged, took his place and threw a huge fireball towards the cloaked men. The as soon as the flames came in contact with the ground it rose up, forming an impenetrable wall. Now sure there would be no interference, the retired general faced his niece.

"This stops now, Azula!"

"Really?" said the bender of the blue flame. "Humor me."

Meanwhile, Zuko was using the wall to get up, and the world was stopping its mad whirling. He tried to move, but found himself unable to: that blow really did a number on him. Why did believe for a second that Azula would play fair! _Azula __**always**__ lies._

As he looked ahead however, things didn't seem so bad: on one side, his uncle had Azula backed in a corner; from the other side of the room, Khan was keeping at bay any of the soldiers trying to lend a hand. The rest of the unknown assaulters were still trying unsuccessfully to breach through a fierce firewall. Now would be a great time to leave… if only his damn legs could move.

It was then he saw it. That evil grin on her face, the ominous glint in her eyes; the same expression Azula had bore at the time of their Agni Kai. He remembered that fight very well: the cowardly way she had acted and almost cost him his life. And now, she was ready to do it again, only this time, his uncle would be in his place.

The urgency of the situation increased to a whole new level once Azula started to separate the positive energy from the negative. Zuko's legs were still jelly. He looked towards the hallway: his swordsman was still holding the soldiers at bay. Feeling his options frustratingly limited, The Fire Lord did the only thing he could do; he positioned his hands in a defensive stance, ready to redirect his sister's next attack.

Blue sparks were swirling around her fingertips. The princess pretended to aim at her uncle, and then smirked. The old general realized in horror what her intentions were. He had to move: Zuko was in danger.

"Uncle! Don't! Please!"

But Iroh paid no heed to his nephew's plea. Ignoring Zuko's mastery of lighting redirection, he moved just as the lightning left Azula's fingertips. Electricity roared as it went in and of the old men back where it came from, barely missing its caster. Azula had stumble and feel on her butt, but a grim grin of satisfaction showed she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

Zuko's eyes watered "Uncle!" he cried. Of course now of all the times, his feet had suddenly become light and ready to obey his every whim. He darted as fast as he could, arriving just in time to catch his falling uncle. The fighting stopped; soldiers and conspirers alike simply stood and watched. It wasn't every day you could see the death of a royal member, especially the famed Dragon of the West. Even Azula had had an unreadable expression on her face.

The young Fire Lord laid his surrogate father gently on the ground and opened his robe with trembling hands. When he saw the burnt marks across his chest he knew there was nothing he could do: the lightning had gone through his heart. He himself would have succumbed to his wounds weren't for Katara. Unfortunately she wasn't here. No one was here, expect him and uncle. And now, he was leaving as well.

"Uncle…why?" reproached Zuko, pain in his voice. "Why did you teach me how to redirect lightning if it was going to end like this?"

Iroh could only smile at his nephew with a strange glint in his eyes. "Sorry… I didn't want… to lose… a second time…"

He didn't have to explain further; Zuko shed new tears remembering that the man he considered a father also loved like a son. Why? Why did he have to go now? Iroh took something out of his sleeve and put it in his nephew's hand. The boy looked at him in surprise, but the general simply closed Zuko hand around his parting gift. He had probably wished to see Zuko away with a smile on his face; unfortunately he had too much to worry about, so he settled for some last words.

"Zuko... run... live... I always… loved…"

The last words couldn't escape his lips.

Zuko' eyes widened at the sudden realization. "Uncle!" he shook him gently. "Open your eyes uncle. Uncle... Uncle!"

His heart broke. He couldn't breathe, yet something was desperately trying to get out. Tears couldn't stop flowing as he desperately shook his only ally and friend, the one who accompanied him through so many hardships. Finally, he let everything out. It was hard to describe what exactly came out of his mouth. It was not entirely a cry, nor a howl… whatever it was; it had an unmistakable dose of pain in it.

Nobody had dared move. Some of the cloaked figures took out there masks and saluted the departed; he might have been a traitor, but the Dragon of the West was one of the best strategists and firebenders the Fire Nation had ever known. Some had a shocked expression on their faces, as if this event wasn't part of the plan.

All shared the pain of the young boy kneeling besides his uncle… except for one person.

"Well, that didn't quite go as expected." she calmly noticed. "Oh well, don't worry dear brother, you'll be seeing him soon."

In that moment, Fire Lord Zuko made a startling discovery: he had never hated anyone before. Anger, yes definitely. In fact he had so much it had become unhealthy at some point.

He had never hated the avatar, though. His ignorance and naiveté frustrated him at first, but it disappeared quickly when he had more important things to do like, you know, staying alive. And besides Katara being a pain in the beginning – understandably so – the rest of the gAang was pretty alright as well once you got to know him. He never hated his father, instead he looked at him like one would a fallen enemy, with respect. He even Azula after all she had done, the ploys, the mocking the lies… he still— maybe not loved her that was too strong of a word, but he cared for her… until now that his.

He knew it was hatred the moment he felt it. Anger was passion, anger was also fire. Hate… was frighteningly cold. His tears had suddenly stopped. He almost forgot he was running for his life, that he was outnumbered and that Khan was on the verge of being overwhelmed, that the rest of the conspirers had finally doused the flames… that he was currently thinking of killing his kin.

"...able."

"Beg your pardon?" she asked sweetly.

"Unforgivable!" he repeated, barely louder.

For once in her life, Azula actually felt threatened by her big brother. The tone of his voice, and the darkness in his eyes gave her the impression that Zuko might actually want to kill her. That feeling vanished as she prepared another bolt of lightning.

"What's unforgivable, brother, his you usurping my throne." She smiled as her attack was ready. "Time to send you on your way, Zuzu."

That was more than the young man could handle. Hate and rage filled his mind. He didn't care about his sister, or his father, or the Fire Nation, nor is the rest of the world… the only thing he was sure of that something, or someone one was going to burn.

The last thing he saw was a world of blue; his last words, a curse.

"Azula!"

He put his hand in front of him, and then there was darkness.

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**A/N: ****Shocking, isn't it?**

**Well, it's not that there isn't any good Zuko fics out there… Quite the opposite actually. However, I had the story in my head for a good time, and the more I read Avatar fics, the more I had ideas for this…**** That and the good ones I read usually dealt with Ba Sing Se / Western Air Temple... With my luck… this will have probably been done to death as well. Whatever I hope you enjoy! **

**You'll probably notice but I don't have a Beta reader for this fic yet. If you like the story and you're interested, please let me know.**


	2. The Lao Estate

**Avatar: The ****Kaiser Phoenix**

Book of the Black Flame

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Disclaimer: You know the drill: Only the OCs and the ideas are mine, the rest belongs to Nick.

I can't believe I got such a good Beta reader! Many thanks to Kyogre.

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**2. The Lao Estate **

"_We of the Lao clan have always remained loyal to the Fire Lord."_

**Khan's father**

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Azula had quickly reclaiming her room at the royal palace, and now she paced across it like a caged tigerdillo, hands clasped tightly behind her back to hold back the temptation of a loose flame. Her confident, smug expression had been replaced by a meditative frown. As she recalled the events of the last day, mutterings of "How?" and "Impossible!" punctuated her pacing. It was at times like this that she truly regretted the loss of her companions. Ty Lee was clueless and Mai emotionless, but they had served as good sounding boards for her frustrations and plans. Until everything had gone to hell that is.

"This is all his fault!" she cried petulantly.

There was a knock at the door, and the princess froze for an instant, wondering if someone had heard – that last remark had been unbecoming of her. She relaxed and took a deep breath.

"Come in," she ordered.

A servant entered quickly, bowing low, and delivered his message quickly.

"My lady, everything has been arranged."

Her face shifted for a moment. However, she returned to her confident grin too quickly to tell if it had been nervousness… or fear.

She closed her eyes. "Good. Where is he?"

"Waiting for you in the throne room, my lady."

She wasted no time before heading to the designated place, though her pace remained unhurried. After all, she was going to meet him with only half a success, which meant half a failure, and she knew better than anyone how he dealt with failure.

Straightening herself and making sure her smug grin was still on her face, she entered the throne room, where the man responsible for the silent overthrow of Zuko meditated. Something about his silent figure raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

Azula knelt.

"Father."

Opening his eyes, Ozai remained perfectly still as he regarded his daughter.

"You've done well, Azula," he said finally. "I trust what transpired yesterday stayed within the palace?"

"Yes. Everything went as planned," she answered. Her nervousness had returned, but she kept her head down, hiding it from the former Fire Lord. "There might be some minor… complications, though."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Complications?"

Azula gulped. "Zuko... escaped."

The tyrant's expression returned to its normal stoic mask, though she could see a tinge of discontent. "Is that so?" he said, almost nonchalantly. "I hope you at least managed to capture General Iroh then."

The princess internally panicked. She had planned that her father would berate her on Zuko's escape; she hadn't expected him to simply brush it away. In fact, she had hoped the Dragon of the West wouldn't have been mentioned at all. Iroh had suddenly dropped in on his nephew yesterday, so Ozai shouldn't have known about him in the first place. The next part would be rather unpleasant.

"I'm sorry, but General Iroh—"

"Was killed?" he finished for her. Her head shot up and her eyes grew wide, but Ozai did not acknowledge it. "Yes, I was informed."

"Killed," he had said. This meant he probably knew who the killer was as well. The blue flame prodigy suddenly found herself at a loss for words. "Father, I—" she tried, but the former Fire Lord cut her off before she could further embarrass herself.

"You disappoint me, Azula," he said with contempt. "Rebelling against my orders is the kind of thing I would expect from Zuko, not you." She paled noticeably. Being compared to her older brother was degrading, at best. Ozai continued nonetheless. "As a result of your rashness, I can't make use of neither of them." From the tone of his voice his displeasure was clear.

"Father, why would you want either of them on your side? The Dragon of the West is nothing more than a washed up legend; as for Zuko…" Her lips formed a derisive smile.

The self proclaimed Phoenix King gave his daughter a look that made her head lower and her smile vanish. His features then softened into an ominous smile.

"Questioning my orders?" he mused. "Well, isn't that something new?"

Azula scrambled to correct her mistake. "I'm sorry father, I didn't mean—"

But Ozai's smile didn't fade as he went on. "Don't worry. If my father had been in the same position, I would have left him to rot in jail. We of the Fire Nation respect only power. I've always taught you that, Azula." He rose from his throne and descended a few steps toward her. "Now, come. Let's see how weak I truly am."

She didn't dare move. Instead she looked at him with a mix of confusion and apprehension. Surely this was a trap; raising a hand against the Fire Lord meant treason. _But Daddy isn't the Fire Lord anymore, is he now?_ She mentally shook her head: this was definitely a test of loyalty. Seeing him come closer to her, she got up and stepped back warily.

Ozai smiled, seeing her unease. "No need to hold back, daughter. If you win, I will crown you the Fire Lord, here and now," he promised. And to further ease her suspicions, he added, "This is not an Agni Kai, after all."

They both looked at each for a long, tense moment. Azula was the first to break off her gaze and attack. The blue streak of fire missed her father by a hair, but he didn't appear troubled. She shot another fireball and one more, followed by a flaming arc from her foot; he dodged them all gracefully.

Ozai took deep, even breaths, relishing the crisp odor of fire. His body danced as his senses feasted on the familiar sensations of his element. It had been far too long since he had even seen firebending. He would make the Avatar pay for taking away something so precious.

He frowned thoughtfully. He had expected Azula to be much more challenging. While she was far from an easy opponent, her textbook attacks were obvious and easily predicted. Also, something in her stance was… off. She probably hadn't bother practicing her fire kata during her imprisonment. Maybe she hadn't gotten over the loss of her companions yet. No matter the reason, she was off her game. The fact that she thought of fighting him in such a state irked him. Clearly, he was being underestimated.

For the past few months, Ozai had followed his son's example and decided to learn the art of bend-less fighting. It was surprisingly easy: he didn't even have to learn new moves. Interestingly enough, the fire kata adapted well to hand to hand combat.

Judging he had spent enough time testing himself, he decided to finish this fight. He focused on the motions of Azula's hands and feet in order to find a safe path through her guard. He sidestepped a fireball, ducked under a blue whip and jumped over a sweeping arc. He rolled under her last attack to deliver a solid punch to her stomach. The girl's eyes grew wide as she toppled over.

The fight was over.

Ozai took a deep breath and regained his seat. "Satisfied? Of course you are. Let this be a lesson to you, daughter – power doesn't come from bending alone. I was born from Sozin's line. Firebending removed, I remain a superior being."

"I've never doubted you, Father," said Azula, barely able to stumble into her kneeling position.

"Yes, of course," he replied dismissively

He did not believe her, naturally. She was lying; he didn't even have to think about it. He knew her; better yet, he knew himself. He had watched her grow and couldn't believe how much like him she was… which is why he wouldn't entrust his life to her in his situation even if the throne depended on it. He wasn't stupid. There wouldn't be a fool in all of Fire Nation who would seriously follow a Fire Lord who couldn't firebend.

Except Zuko.

Once again his mind drifted to his wayward son. For someone who clearly resented his father, Zuko had certainly acted with the utmost respect: the boy had dutifully visited him every week since his incarceration. Though those visits were always on the whereabouts of his mother, he had still inquired about his father's health and even brought him news of the nation from time to time.

Once, Ozai had asked his son why he was doing this.

"You were the Fire Lord once. I like to believe you still worry about the fate the country. I like to believe a part of you once cared. I hope the news I bring will put your mind at ease."

There was no love; not anymore. However, there was respect – the respect of a son for his father. Though Ozai thought this kind of foolishness was something that would get Zuko killed one of these days, he couldn't fault it. Respect, not fear; respect, not superfluous admiration or flattery; he had never found it under his rule. He had possessed power, and pawns, but someone that wasn't too much like himself? Someone he could trust? Life had a good sense for irony.

He couldn't really see Zuko as the next Fire Lord; he was too weak for that. He lacked the drive, the ambition. As his second though, his enforcer, his… advisor…? And who knew? Maybe it wasn't too late to, if not erase Iroh's influence, at least alter it.

Iroh… now that was another case altogether, but he had to leave that subject for a later meditation.

In the meantime, he needed to teach Azula to keep her remarks to herself, and a purely physical method would prove insufficient for someone like her. He smiled once he found the perfect argument.

"Do you want to know why I failed, Azula?" he asked. "Why one worthy of the title Phoenix King was deprived of his flames?"

"The Avatar," she answered venomously.

He shook his head. "While powerful, the Avatar is nothing but a child without his entourage. Yet I never underestimated him. The only one I ever overlooked… was my son."

Her head shot up in confusion. "_Zuko_?"

There was certain amusement to this game, he realized. "Surprised? Yes, Prince Zuko. I always considered him a failure. Yet here I am now. The son of the phoenix is also a phoenix."

In an earlier time, the proud Ozai would never have considered Zuko as something other than a failure, yet he had been thrown in jail, and his son had taken his place. Surely, he had overlooked something.

It had been pretty easy to trick Zuko into giving information on himself in the short while the boy had been at Ozai's side after Ba Sing Se. The royal line had personal memoires for each of their rulers, and all he had to do was arrange for someone to start such a biography for his son to have the boy spilling his secrets. Of course, even his son wasn't foolish enough to tell everything. For example, he failed to mention the Blue Spirit. Ozai had figured that detail out only after being threatened by the twin dao of his son.

His infiltration of the North Pole, his trip to Ba Sing Se… those actions spoke volumes about Zuko's real worth.

"But Zuko is nothing but a pathetic fool who got lucky!" Azula objected.

He had been waiting for that remark. "A fool?" He raised an eyebrow. "That _fool_ was able to free the worst Fire Nation criminals under your eyes. The same fool turned the only people you could call friends against you and nearly drove you mad. You couldn't even defeat him in a proper Agni Kai." He then looked at her with false, mocking curiosity. "Tell me, if he is a fool and a failure, what does that make _you_?"

The Fire Princess staggered and felt her face becoming red from humiliation. She tried to come up with a witty retort but all that escaped her lips was an enraged hiss.

Ignoring his daughter, Ozai went on. "This trial by fire has made me wiser. It has taught me not to underestimate my enemies, and also to know who my real enemies are. Fate has given me a second chance. I will _not_ tolerate failure. Is that clear, Azula?"

This time, she got the hint. She lowered her and nodded.

"Good," said the ex-Fire Lord. "Let us stick to the plan, then. Did you contact them?"

"They are ready to serve, Father," said Azula, more than happy to get away from the prior subject.

"Very well, keep me informed. You are dismissed."

The girl bowed more deeply than usual and left the room in a hurry.

The tyrant waited a few moments to make sure that his daughter had truly left before calling out, "You can come out now." Immediately, four cloaked hooded figures appeared out of the corners of the room and kneeled before him. Each cloak was colored differently; one was midnight blue, one a dark crimson, one deep green and the last one black.

"Hai, Peng," said Ozai, "you already have your orders."

Blue and Green bowed and seemed to disappear into the shadows. Ozai focused on the crimson hood.

"Yang, how is he?" he asked.

"Shaken, but alive."

Ozai nodded. "Start the purge. In the meantime, keep an eye on Azula."

Now alone with the last member, he stood from his reclaimed throne.

"Shen, prepare yourself. We'll depart soon."

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"Good evening, your highness. I hope you slept well."

The look Zuko gave his bodyguard was quite telling on how well he had slept – or rather, how he hadn't slept at all, judging from the bags under his eyes. Surprisingly enough, there was no sign of tears. Maybe he had cried them all already; maybe he was holding them back. His swordsman shrugged as Zuko got to his feet, a bit sore from the few hours they had been sleeping on the deck of their small boat.

They couldn't risk being caught anywhere near the palace at the moment, so they sought refuge on one of the many islands of the Fire Nation archipelago.

"I hope you are feeling well this morning," Khan risked again.

Zuko looked at the water for a long moment. "I feel like the world hates me," he finally said, a bitter smile on his lips. He shook his head; he couldn't grieve, not now. He had to hold it in for a while longer. _Think about anything else_, he mused. His eyes went back to his bodyguard.

"Where are we heading?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"To the Lao estate, my lord. The whole province there is under my father's rule. You will be able to rest for a while."

He nodded almost absently, his mind already returning to that horrible moment – Azula, his uncle, the lightning, and then... nothing? The Fire Lord frowned, trying to piece together the last moments of that evening, but could only come up blank. He glanced at Khan once more. Trapped as they were before they escaped, he couldn't have gotten the both of them out, unless...

"How did we escape?" he suddenly wondered. The look on Khan's face confused him.

"…You don't remember?" asked the swordsman as his eyes grew wide. "You were the one who got us out of there. Once you did, you collapsed. Luckily we were at the stables by then, so I took two komodo rhinos and… here we are."

It was now Zuko's turn to be surprised. _Spirits! How did __**I**__ get us out of there? That doesn't make sense! I should have been too... out of it to do anything._ The young man tried to focus once again, but all he could make out after Ir— after it happened was an intense blue light. He tried to jog his memory for a few moments, until his bodyguard dragged him out of his pondering.

"What are you going to do, my lord?" asked Khan.

The firebender had asked himself the same question, but hadn't come up with an answer. He couldn't really think about the future right now. He knew he should, but he just didn't have the strength yet.

Zuko shook his head tiredly. "Nothing. I need time."

The swordsman nodded. "I understand, my lord," he said, and left him to his dark musings.

Zuko's mind wandered back to that moment again. He had to admit that the coup had been well executed. The soldiers had been subdued one way or another, since he could recognize none of them. That meant his enemy had great influence and great resources, probably an alliance of nobles unhappy with the way things were going. But to have unleashed Azula back on the world... even sane his sister had been inhuman.

Looking back again, he had seen from the way the other masked men had reacted when I— _damn it stop thinking about him!_ – when Azula had bent lightning felt suspicious. They had given each other looks. Some had even recoiled, probably in terror or disgust. Clearly, that hadn't been part of the plan. Meaning either Azula had acted against her own plan – impossible for the perfectionist he knew as a sister – or...

Zuko remembered the last words of his father. No matter. For now, Ozai wasn't his priority, Azula was. She had clearly meant to hit him that time. It was always underhanded tactics with her; had she no honor? She hadn't even spared a glance at what she had done. _She didn't even care_, he thought as his hands gripped the rail a little more tightly. _She never did._

He was surprised by his lack of anger, his usual rush of burning rage. By now he had expected to be restrained in order not to sink the boat, but he was strangely calm. Maybe because now wasn't the time for grief or anger, but vengeance. No, not vengeance, he reasoned, _justice_. Azula would get what was coming to her. Execution would be too good for her. His father deserved death, but her... She didn't deserve respect or love, not even his pity. She deserved suffering, at least as much as he had. He would make sure that she wouldn't cross to the Spirit World in peace.

"My Lord!" rang Khan's voice. "Lord Zuko!"

The firebender whirled around to glare at him. "What?" he snapped.

"I don't know what you're doing, but please stop before you burn the boat, my lord!" The swordsman's eyes were full of panic.

"What?" What was he talking about? Zuko couldn't even feel any anger. He looked down at his hands; black smoke was coming out of them. Alarmed he looked at his arms and the same phenomenon was present. He was starting to share his bodyguard's panic when the fumes suddenly stopped.

Zuko blinked. "What just happened?" he asked Khan.

The young soldier looked at him carefully. "You really don't remember." Khan paused to recollect his thoughts. "Yesterday after your—" Zuko gave him look that clearly meant he didn't want to finish that sentence. "…after Azula bent lightning for the first time, you screamed, and then you looked exactly like you did moments ago."

He nodded. "And then...?" he asked apprehensively.

"And then you were engulfed in dark flames," Khan almost whispered.

Zuko was stumped. He blinked at couple of times. "Dark flames...?" the Fire Lord managed to let out. "As in...?"

"Black as the night, my lord," finished his companion.

"That's impossible," Zuko said as he turned around, disappointed. Even the dragons he had met hadn't breathed black flames; if anyone should know about colored fires, it would be them. "Are you sure it wasn't a trick of the light?" he inquired.

The swordsman snorted. "Whatever it was, it burned Azula's next lightning attack," he said darkly.

The Fire Lords attention returned to his bodyguard. "It burnt _lightning_?"

Khan nodded. "It was the scariest thing I've ever seen, my lord. I always thought... I always thought fire was the supreme element, but to see fire and even lightning consumed like that..."

Zuko could imagine. He wanted to dismiss this account as pure fantasy, yet he couldn't deny the terror he saw in Khan's eyes; you couldn't fake that kind of primordial fear... the dread of something beyond logic itself that happens when fantasy becomes reality.

"So what happened next?" he pressed.

Khan swallowed. "Azula backed away while the other assailants tried to attack you. Everything they used was consumed once it touched the flames." There was a slight hesitation. "The soldiers tried to stop us... one of them got burned." He shook his head and shuddered. "That fire... it didn't stop, my lord. Not until everything was gone."

The young firebender felt his heart become cold when he heard a soldier had lost his life by his fault. The casualty itself wasn't a problem. They were the ones rebelling after all, and the man had just gotten what he deserved. No, it was the fact that he was the one responsible and he didn't even remember it. He could start to understand a bit how Aang felt at the North Pole, though on a much smaller scale.

The two teens were in deep thoughts when the boat shook rather unpleasantly. Khan looked around and noticed the familiar landscape.

"We're here, my lord."

"Good." Zuko nodded, keen to head to the Lao estate at once. He needed time alone to think, but more importantly, to mourn his uncle properly.

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Zuko passed the following week in a terrible melancholy. He had patiently waited to be safe to be able to grieve in solitude, then promptly locked himself up in the guest room as soon as he and Khan arrived at the Lao estate. Although he hadn't spent much time getting to know the other members of Khan's clan, he realized distantly that they were worried – nobody wanted to become the family that let their Fire Lord die of starvation, he supposed. But at the same time, remembering Lord Ozai, they were wary to simply barge and disturb his son.

Fortunately, after days of silent mourning, Zuko left his room, pale, but ready to act a bit more sociable. He didn't want to talk about what had happened, but was able to engage conversation on other topics. That's how he learned Khan's family consisted of his parents, grandparents and older brother. It took another full day for him to feel the need to go outside.

"Didn't you know? The taxes have doubled since the new Fire Lord rose to power. Now, behave like a good and loyal Fire Nation citizen and pay up."

Needless to say this was not what he had in mind when he went out for his stroll.

But expected or not, there was no way Zuko could let this pass. "You shouldn't lie you know," he declared, stepping between the two people – a large, heavy-set man and a woman in rags. "The war tax has been lifted, so the current tax should have been cut by half," he continued.

The gruff man gave him a look. He couldn't recognize Zuko under the hooded garb he wore, deliberately hiding everything above his nose. Judging from the man's attire, he was a tax collector. Zuko frowned, considering the man's outrageous claim. Double under the new Fire Lord indeed, when the war tax alone had already been nearly a quarter of any citizen's income. Was he trying to suck the people dry?

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the man said with a mock grin. "A brat who can't keep his mouth shut." He grabbed Zuko by the front of robes and dragged him forward until they were nose to nose. As Zuko lifted his chin and glared, the man's eyes passed quickly over his features, though there was still spark of recognition. "It seems you didn't get it the first time," the man sneered, his eyes lingering on Zuko's scar. "Maybe I should scar the rest of that face."

Already displeased with the man's behaviour, Zuko felt his temper flare at this insult. He looked down and took a deep breath to calm himself before he even thought of doing anything else. He exhaled and sparks flew, startling both the man and making him back away quickly.

He suppressed a grin, recognizing his typical and brash anger acting up as usual. Good, maybe this was just what he needed to pull himself together. He glanced at the foolish tax collector again. He was going to enjoy this.

"That's a funny way to address yourself to an imperial inspector," he casually said.

The look he received was unimpressed, until Zuko pulled out a royal emblem, a sign of authority within the nation. Recognizing the insignia, the other man froze. "I-imperial inspector?" he squeaked.

The young man's grin only grew larger. "And this isn't even my district too. I might have let it go if you hadn't mentioned the scar. Maybe I should write that report to the Fire Lord myself." Having said that, he waited; that crook would crack anytime now.

"Please, sir! I didn't know!"

Music to his ears. All the funnier was that fact that there was no such thing as an inspector; at least... as far as he knew. _Not a bad idea, though,_ he mused.

"Well isn't that great then?" he remarked. "'Means I'm doing my job properly. Now, though I'm in a bad mood, I'm feeling generous. The war is over, after all."

The collector tried to smile. "Y-yeah. Long live Lord Zuko, r-right?" he proclaimed, raising his fist to the sky.

_Pathetic_, thought Zuko. "Exactly. Therefore, I will write to my superiors and come back in a month from now in order to do a full inspection of the records."

The man blanched. "F-full?"

The young Fire Lord put on a surprised look. "Is something wrong? Forgot to update your reports?"

"N-no, sir. I'm looking forward to your next visit, sir."

"That's what I like to hear. You may leave," he said dismissively and watched as the man hastily departed, with a somewhat feral smile on his face. He then turned, his expression now full of worry, toward the poor woman harassed earlier. "Are you okay?"

"Thank you, sir," she said as she bowed, full of gratitude.

Zuko looked at her, guilt welling up in his chest. "Has it always been... like this?" he asked hesitantly.

She lowered her head, remembering that this was only temporary relief. "Yes, sir. The Fire Lord's been too busy with the war to do anything about crooked tax collectors. When it's not them, it's the bandits."

Zuko frowned. "Bandits? But I saw soldiers in the city!"

The woman gave a smile full of spite, quite telling of what she thought about them. "Soldiers require a fee these days," she snorted. "They let thieves and ruffians pillage any house that refuses to pay for protection." She then looked curiously at this cloaked young man she had never seen before as he mumbled to himself in apparent outrage. "I've never heard of an imperial inspector," she stated.

"Oh, right. There isn't," he said absently, "I made it up."

The woman's eyes glanced worriedly in the direction the crook had gone. "But then...?"

"Don't worry. I'm pretty high up in the council; I'll make sure the Fire Lord knows about this."

"The Fire Lord? Why would he care about this?" she asked with a small smile. "All the previous ones ever thought about was war.

"This one's different," assured Zuko as he started to take off his hood. But he was stopped by a loud cough. Behind him was Khan, giving him a reproving stare. The royal teenager shrugged, but when his attention returned to that victimized woman, she was gone. He sighed.

"Tell me, Khan – are the neighbouring districts also like that?"

The swordsman gave him a questioning look, prompting Zuko to explain what had happened. The soldier shrugged. "I'm afraid so, my lord. Dishonest soldiers, bandits, gangs, tax collectors... they fight over who gets the meagre earnings of the people. The governors know this and use it to force the commoners to depend on them."

His anger was rising again. "Unacceptable."

Khan shrugged. "While I appreciate your concerns for the people, you have more... pressing matters needing your attention." Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Like your survival..." he added, making the Fire Lord flinch, "...or your restoration." Zuko lowered his head. "Please, let's head back, my lord."

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Zuko sighed. He hadn't eaten this evening, and now it looked like he wouldn't sleep as well. To be honest, he didn't mind too much. Dreams of his banishment or his mother had haunted his nights for a long time, until his coronation as Fire Lord, when he vanquished his inner turmoil and the nightmares receded. But now with his uncle's death, the bad memories had returned, supported by a new and painful one. Feeling he could go a night – or the rest of his life – without sleeping, Zuko left his room.

As he searched for any room equipped with a fireplace, he heard voices coming from further down the hallway, in the main room that led outside. From the sound of things, there was a heated discussion about something, or someone. He shook his head; he couldn't repay their hospitality by eavesdropping, could he?

"You bring shame to our name, Khan! We of the Lao clan have always remained loyal to the Fire Lord."

He froze. On second thought, this conversation was clearly his business to know. Was the rest of the Lao clan opposed to his reign as well? That wouldn't surprise him. Oh well, tomorrow he'd just have to leave with...

"Don't be a fool, Father!" replied a voice he knew belong to Khan. "He is living on borrowed time; he has barely any support at the council. Most, if not all, of them want the war and are ready to reinstate Fire Lord Ozai in order to get what they want."

So they chose the fear of that tyrant over him? He wondered what that said about him, yet couldn't come up with anything. Wistfully, Zuko wondered if at least one of them actually cared about the Fire Nation at all. Had he imagined the looks of approbation he received when he had solved the problem concerning the colonies? He felt incredibly tired: alone, with no support. He felt like a small candle flame in the eye of a storm. The feeling was so great he almost forgot he had just heard a confession of betrayal from his bodyguard.

A third voice opposed the swordsman. "And you'd support them, after all the war has brought us?"

"This isn't about ideals, brother, it's about survival."

"I will not accept this," came the deeper voice of Khan's father.

"Please, father, don't make me choose between my clan and my country."

'His country?' His duty, maybe, but his country? Zuko had heard enough.

"Don't worry," the young Fire Lord said, finally stepping into the room. "You won't have to. I'm leaving."

"Your Highness!"

Khan was clearly shocked to see him – intriguing. A telling glance from the swordsman towards the dining room, and Zuko knew his lack of appetite had saved his life.

"I suppose that means you drugged my food," he concluded.

The swordsman glared. The rest of Khan's family were shocked. He shrugged. _No matter_. This simply meant Azula or his father wanted him alive for now; they'd live to regret that decision. He'd get his throne back, he'd stop this uprising and then... he'd make them wish they had never even thought of including Iroh in their plans.

He turned to leave but the voice of his treacherous bodyguard stopped him.

"You're not leaving!" yelled Khan.

"Watch me," he replied simply.

But the soldier ran in front of him and blocked his path. When Zuko made another stepped forward, he drew his sword. "You're not leaving," he repeated.

Zuko frowned. Even weighed down by his tired indifference, his temper was beginning to flare. "And what are you going to do with that?" he snapped. "Kill me?"

"I..." Khan hesitated. Zuko made another step forward while he retreated towards the way out. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" he finally settled.

You can't be serious! To go so far has to propose an Agni Kai… Zuko was angry, but reeled in his irritation. He calmly reached Khan, moved him aside with a movement from the hand and kept walking.

"Your challenge is void," he said neutrally, over his shoulder.

"You're running away!" challenged the swordsman.

Zuko stopped. He was this close to torching the young man alive. "I'm saving your life!" he hissed though his teeth.

"Khan, he's right. This is treason!" the boy's father tried to reason with him.

Of course he was right! The only reason he survived the Agni Kai with his father was because he refused to fight back. Any move to attack him at that time would have given Ozai every right to kill him in the arena.

"Not if Lord Ozai takes the throne back," Khan pointed out, almost fervently. "You can't back out from this, my lord, I challenge you—"

Zuko watched, surprised, as Khan's father simply whacked the swordsman across the head with his own sheathed weapon, knocking his son out cold. He sighed before kneeling in front of his lord.

"Please forgive my son, Your Highness; he is young and rash. He has only seen battles. He has no idea what real war is."

Zuko knew pretty well. He had seen the villages and people victimized by the war. And he knew the ones he had met were part of the group who got lucky. He could sympathize with Khan's father; if only his son wasn't such an idiot. Unfortunately, because of that, he would have to leave the only supporters he was sure he had.

"I can't stay here," he said.

"Please, my lord," pleaded the brother, "you will be safe here. Khan may oppose you but I assure you—"

"Azula knows I'm here. That's the only reason I made it to your domain in one piece." The ashen look on the residents of the Lao estate told him they understood exactly what that meant.

That said, he bowed politely. "I thank you for your hospitality. Don't be too hard on Khan."

He was nearly at the door when Khan's father spoke up. "Lord Zuko, please remember this: the Lao House will be forever loyal to you – whatever may happen."

The overthrown Fire Lord smiled sadly, nodded and left.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

That night Ozai had called for his daughter once more. When she arrived, she found him in light travel clothes, barely recognizable. The Phoenix King smirked, knowing his disguise was more than good enough if it almost fooled Azula. He waited as she bowed before speaking.

"Azula, I am departing. I leave the Fire Nation under your care. As far as I am concerned, you are the Fire Lord until my return." The surprised expression she bore amused him. He was in a hurry though and so changed the subject. "I needed Zuko on my side for my original plans to succeed. With Iroh dead, however, we've lost all leverage we had on him. You may do whatever you like with him, but remember that Zuko is of royal descent. You will treat him as such."

"Yes, father," she said a bit too happily.

Ozai knew this wouldn't prevent his daughter from trying to kill her brother, but at least now she would try to do it herself. It was not like she had a choice in any case. She couldn't use the army or raise any suspicion: if any of the other nations knew about this before they were ready, it would be all for nothing. _That is the most I can do for you, Zuko, _he mused._ Let's see if you are truly worth the trouble. _And if the boy really was all that he suspected him to be, he would claim him as his own and his victory would be complete. After all, Iroh wasn't the only family member his son cared about.

In the meantime, Zuko's father had more serious business to take care of. He exited the palace quickly and headed near the town, where the black-cloaked Shen was waiting for him in front of two komodo rhinos.

"Where are we heading, my lord?"

"To get my bending back." He answered confidently.

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**A/N****: Thanks for the reviews. Next chapter, Zuko meets another main character. Hope you look forward to it.**


	3. The Wandering Swordsman

**Avatar: The ****Kaiser Phoenix**

Book of the Black Flame

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Disclaimer: You know the drill: Only the OCs and the ideas are mine, the rest belongs to Nick.

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**3****. The Wandering Swordsman**

_Now, we all know you're going to get me in the end; question is, how many of you will die before that happens?_

**The Wandering Swordsman**

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This was a small town, really; about fifty houses, a dozen of shops, a few main streets and a maze of back alleys, due to the erratic way the buildings had been made. A lone farmer that had been exiled for a petty crime had somehow found himself here, and thanks to the rich soil prospered – or so the legend went.

It was also a town ripe for any kind of misdeed you could think of; even soldiers knew better than to stop by. The only safe path was the main street connecting the northern and southern gates. Everywhere else: improvised gambling houses, prostitutes, cunning thieves, and, if one was unfortunate enough to end in the back streets cutthroats, slave merchants, hitmen and whatever else the world thought belonging to the darkness.

A grey haired thief sighed happily as he leaned against one of the many town gates. He truly felt at home in this hell hole. Where else could he steal without an ounce of worry about the authorities? All he had to do was to spread the wealth at the right places and he was free to do whatever he pleased. He had long since become a master of the art. Nicknamed the Silver Crow, he now spent his days teaching eager students. One of them - his most promising one actually – was waiting for a target to enter town hidden in the small crowd near the gates.

That's when it happened.

A young man entered the village. The way he swayed dangerously from a side to another turned a couple of heads, if only because his face was new – it wasn't rare to see drunkards at this time of day. At first the Crow easily dismissed him. _Another drug user,_ he simply thought. Though from his experience dealing with that unfortunate sort of people, he had to wonder what kind of substance that kid had taken for him to be this messed up: he walked only straight ahead, barely excusing himself when he bumped into someone, which happened every ten seconds or so. Judging from his face that man had probably no idea he was in a village to begin with.

_Too bad he had entered from the southwest road_, thought the man grimly. _He might have made it out of here all right._

Already, the thieves had gathered around the poor fool. Only the sword by his side kept them at bay. Still they followed him; eventually a moment would come when someone would get his sword and then... well, he'd be lucky if he walked out of town with his clothes on.

…or in one piece

An opportunity to steal the wanderer's weapon came when he reached the town square. His student, who he affectionately nicknamed 'little crow', got closer to the young man and timed his attack right as he excused himself from toppling a lady. The skilled thief bumped into him, cutting the scabbard free at the same time and quickly walked away. Silver Crow mentally applauded his student; the operation had been flawless and judging from the design of the cover, the sword would fetch a good price.

The young boy was already on the way to market when he felt the cold touch of metal near his neck. He froze, and so did his mentor, and the rest of the people nearby. He turned his head back and saw the man he had stolen from, his eyes still looking dead.

"You might want to give this back to me," he simply said.

It was then, and only then he noticed the scabbard was empty. _When did he...?_ he asked himself, but his answers would have to wait. Right now, the swordsman was still waiting, with a look that told the rookie the stranger wouldn't care much if he had to slit his throat in broad daylight to get his belonging back. Trembling, he handed the sheath and apologized. The traveler took his scabbard and sheathed his sword as if nothing had happened.

"Thanks," he said.

And then he resumed his seemingly aimless wandering. The thief stood there long after the swordsman vanished, paralyzed by fear. When finally Silver Crow himself shook him out of his lethargy, he fell on his butt. With slumped shoulders he started breathing erratically, glancing everywhere with haggard eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked his teacher.

"No," he assured him. "I'm never going near that creep," he added suddenly full of life. He shivered. "The look in his eyes..." he hesitated, searching for words "he looked like he was already dead!"

The master gave his student a critical look. He finally nodded. "Then you're lucky you survived in the first place. He would have probably cut you right then. His are the scariest kind of people."

The older man then helped his pupil up and took him to a nearby tavern – there was likely no way the poor boy would be able to work for a couple of days.

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Somewhere far away in the freezing south, a boy was staring at the deep blue of the ocean. One would think he was homesick the way his eyes were filled with longing. In fact, he really looked out of place with his clothes – yellow and orange, without fur or even a hood! With his bald head, it was hard not to wonder how that kid hadn't frozen to death by then, but he looked on, apparently unconcerned by something as trivial as the arctic cold.

Another teen, an older girl this time, walked leisurely towards him. She giggled silently; He could look so cute when he was focused. A bit too focused even – it had been months and the young woman couldn't seem to get the kid to loosen up. The war was over after all; what more did they need to worry about? So focused he was, that she was now behind him and he hadn't noticed, despite the soft noise of her boots in the snow. All the better; she'd have a chance to surprise him.

"Guess who!" she teased as her warm hands wrapped around his face.

She felt the boy in front of him smile. "Katara," he greeted.

She beamed and stood next to him, hands behind her back. Even with all his focus, the young monk couldn't help but to glance at the figure next to him. How could he ignore her – she was his girlfriend after all. He stared at her until she blushed.

"So," she let out, looking the other way, "want to go penguin sledding with me?"

"Sure," he said, and to anyone but the GAang, it would appear Aang looked forward to it from his wide grin. Yet Katara frowned; he hadn't faced her as he said that. And something about his smile was... off.

"What's wrong Aang?" she asked, eyes filled with worry.

The boy didn't bother denying his mood. He simply sighed. "I don't know." He smiled at Kakara who was probably trying to read his mind. "I guess... I can't believe it's finally over." He mused.

Her face cleared up, suddenly relieved, and she nodded. "Yeah, me too."

She really couldn't blame him for that. Only recently had the last of the southern tribe warriors come back home. Everywhere else was the same phenomenon; prisoners from war finally seeing their loved ones, a final farewell to those who had sacrificed their lives for what was right; the subtle change in the air that convinced the world that peace had finally settled.

And suddenly Aang looked puzzled. "I can't just end like that, right?"

"Oh, Aang..." she said sadly.

"I mean, the war lasted a hundred years; there's no way everything is going to be okay like that." He reasoned. And just like that he had made his mind. "Maybe I should go to the Earth Kingdom and—"

"Aang." She called out a bit louder this time. The way flinched made her bit her lip; she hated to see him disappointed. "You promised." she scolded.

The young monk looked crestfallen for a moment. "But Katara—" he tried.

She took his hands. "You already saved the world, Aang."

That he did. She still couldn't believe that a small team of powerful fighters could bring down a whole country, avatar or not. And not only had he triumphed over evil, he had done so while keeping himself whole, another difficult ordeal. Really, what more could the world ask of such a sweet boy? Nothing that couldn't wait until he grew up, she reasoned. Aang was still a kid - _she_ was still a child – let the world sort itself out for a while.

"You're only twelve." she told him. "Besides, you said it yourself, you shouldn't have even heard about being the Avatar before sixteen. You've done enough Aang; it's time to rest." He was going to protest but she was quicker and put out her best pleading face "Please? For me?"

Her blue eyes completely disarmed the Avatar, who relented. "Fine, you're right."

"Thanks." And she rewarded him with a kiss, which left them both red and panting. "So," she said, an impish grin coloring her face, "about that penguin sledding..."

"Let's go!" said the monk excitedly, and they were off.

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The Blue Spirit was currently running for his life. He jumped to the left, dodging an old man, and leapt over the food cart. Seeing the couple ahead as a good distraction, he squirmed himself between them, shoving the male into the fruit stand, finally slowing down his assailants. He turned left, leaving the market and promptly losing himself. He felt safe until he reached a dead end. He turned back to take another path, but already his was surrounded by thugs of all types.

"Who are you guys?" asked the masked criminal.

But he received no answer as the dozen of men slowly approached. Within the group, a man took out his pipe and lit it with a snap of his fingers. He inhaled deeply, and satisfied with the sensation of dragon flowers coursing through his body he smiled. From the look of things, he was the one in charge.

"Well, well, well..." said the man, "the Blue Spirit. You've got quite the rep, I heard."

The figure against the wall sneered before taking out his weapon. The smile on the boss' lips never faded, but his eyes grew cold.

"Now that won't do... that won't do at all," He slurred ominously. "Boys, please show this _spirit_ a thing or two about manners."

And in less than a second, all kinds of axes, knives and swords glittered menacingly under the sunlight. Only his trembling hands made them aware of the apprehension the masked fighter was hiding. Things were about the get ugly.

Zuko looked nervously at the group. Of all the days he had to pass through this town, it had to be this one. The exiled Fire Lord had known about the infamous town. He had planned to simply circle the dreaded place and continue his way towards the Earth Kingdom, but a morbid curiosity had drawn him in. He had wondered; if a province under the Lao clan had this bad, what about here? And he hadn't been disappointed – a sense of justice could get you killed here.

And that's exactly why he behaved like an idiot and played hero.

On the other hand, this case was a bit special. It wasn't every day you got to save your very own alter ego of all things. He had been more than shocked – and flattered – when he had seen the blue mask, and decided to follow his impostor. All in all, the young fool – he had to be young; nobody past twenty would have been caught dead making these amateur mistakes; they'd be already dead in the first place – nearly failed to save a man from being mugged, had talked down to his assailant, and had gotten himself corned like a rookie. He didn't even have dual blades! Talk about disappointing. And to add insult to injury, the group who currently surrounded 'the Blue Spirit' weren't any better themselves – they hadn't even figured out he was there. He sighed. At least the rescue wouldn't too hard.

A few yards behind the scene, the master firebender aimed a fireball with a high and wide arc; the projectile fell and exploded in front of the thugs like it came down from the heavens. The bandits had nearly recovered from their surprise when a second and third fireball appeared, throwing them all in a panic. In their confusion, they forgot about the Blue Spirit, who took advantage of the confusion to slip out unnoticed. When the bombardment stopped, it was already too late.

"Damn it! Where is he?" yelled the leader. He started to grind his teeth seeing his underlings admiring the scenery. "Well, what are you idiots waiting for?" he barked, "After him!"

But they hadn't even made a few steps towards the other end of the alley that they heard another voice speak with authority. "Let him go!" it said.

Looking for the source of the fool who'd there order them around, they found a cloaked figure casually leaning against the wall at the entrance of the alley.

"And who might you be?" asked the bandit leader.

But Zuko ignored that question and instead focused on his main opponent. Besides the fact he was the only one apparently gifted with speech, something about him was... different. Besides, that, it looked like the thugs knew how to wield their weapons, even though most of them looked like they weren't accustomed to the life of the streets... odd.

"You were part of the army!" finally discovered the Fire Lord. All he got for an answer was sneers and glares coming from the whole group. He was right then. He took out his emblem. "You might recognize this then." He said, lifting the small trinket for all of them to see.

However, the effects he hoped for were reversed, as the group now started to advance more threateningly. "Unfortunately for you, we don't think too kindly of the current Fire Lord," explained the boss.

Fortunately for him, he had the advantage. From the look of things the only firebender in their midst was the leader of these thugs, and since he was in the middle of his group he couldn't attack properly. So when he nearly burned the thugs brave enough to come close and they all froze, Zuko thought this was the best time to make an exit... until an arrow pinned the clothes around his leg to the wall. _Yu Yan_, he thought, and the next moment, his whole lower body was immobilized. He tried to find the archer when a knife lodged itself near his head.

I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you warned the other firebender. Seeing his prisoner made no other movement to escape he called for shackles.

As his victim was properly restrained, the mob boss decided to personally divest the weapons of their little troublemaker and remove his hood. The cowl revealed a notorious scarred teen with a fierce glare. If there was anything that could have put a smile on the retired soldier's face, it would have been just that.

"Well boys," said the man, almost grinning, "looks like we hit the jack pot. If we get rid of the guy here, we get a competent Fire Lord back, which means we're back to being war heroes."

The cheers he heard from the group promised Zuko a very grim future.

The leader shrugged. "Well, your highness, nothing personal." He sneered, now serious. "No, burn that thought – this is very personal." He then faced his group. "Gimme a weapon here; this traitor doesn't even deserve to be burned to death."

_So that's it__,_ thought the Fire Lord, _That's how I go huh?_ Somehow that hadn't surprised him. He had already figured fate was against him when she unfairly took his uncle away. But to die like a dog in a back alley... he would have hoped his death more glorious than that. Why fight though? He had lost everything, and he couldn't change his nation alone. It's not like the nobles cared in any fashion.

As his now armed executioner came closer Zuko closed his eyes.

"Any last words?" asked the man. Zuko didn't answer. He heard the small whistling or a sword being raised and waited for death to claim him.

Instead, the distinct sound of blades clashing followed by a pained grunt rang though his ears. He snapped his eyes open and in front of him stood the back of another total stranger.

"Now, who the hell are you!" asked the corrupted soldier, sitting on the ground.

The young swordsman looked at himself. "...A boy?" Then after another quick glance "With a sword?"

"Kill him!" Roared the boss, then he changed his mind "Wait, aim for the scarred one first!"

By that time, the swordsman had made a step away from Zuko, who now had a clear view of the Yu Yan archer posted on the roof, his bow already drawn. He had only time to shout "Yu Yan" before the man had let go of his arrow.

The mysterious fighter whirled around and deflected the arrow with a precise twirl of his blade. There was a sudden moment of silence – even the archer was shocked. The oldest man of the group, a renowned grey haired thief, ran towards his boss full of fear.

"Boss! Boss! That's the guy I was talking about!" the leader gave him a glare, silently ordering him to explain himself. Fast. "That's the freaky sword guy, boss! The one Jiang couldn't steal from."

The man nodded in understanding; this guy would be a nuisance. "You three!" he said, "Get rid of the nuisance!"

The three in particular were a tall muscular axe wielding brute, a swordsman scarred all over and a short, sadistic looking baldy, playing with his knives. The fighters walked leisurely coming at the intruder, until the short one threw one of his blades. Immediately the other two dashed in order to attack.

The swordsman parried the throwing dagger and stepped forward. He ignored the other swordfighter and instead slit the throat of the brute with a quick slash while his weapon was still raised. Ducking the first sword blow, he lunged for the short man and threw him towards Zuko. The mysterious fighter sidestepped the second blow and attacked. The first strike overpowered the other man, tripping him; the following swipe was aimed at his guts. As the second foe crumpled, he went back to the pinned Fire Lord where the knife thrower lay motionless – an arrow between the two shoulder blades.

Once again silence reigned. Seeing the results the swordsman shook his head, disappointed.

"You're doing it wrong," He told them as-a-matter-of-factly. "Those were probably your strongest, right? You should have attacked me all at once – one of you might've gotten lucky enough to kill me early." He shrugged; his death seemed to leave him indifferent. "Now, we all know you're going to get me in the end;" but then a feral smile appeared on his lips. "Question is, how many of you will die before that happens?"

It took only a few second for the thugs to run for their lives.

"You bunch of cowards!" yelled the veteran soldier after them, "Come back and fight!"

"What about you, 'Boss'?" challenged the stranger. "Want to try your luck?"

After a few moments, said boss left as well, in no hurry to meet his own demise.

Zuko's rescuer sighed. "Waste of time." He then turned towards Zuko "Come with me—" He suddenly dodged, and caught an arrow coming right between Zuko's eyes with his left hand. "Oops! Kind of forgot about the archer there. …Mind telling me where he his?"

"Rooftop; hiding behind a barrel on the fourth building on your right," the Fire Lord answered. "I'll keep an eye on him," he added.

The young man grinned. He found the spot and nodded. "I can probably reach it." he mumbled more to himself than to Zuko. He then shrugged. Looking around, he picked a stone slightly larger than his hand and played with it. He cracked his neck, took a throwing pose and let the rock fly. It was too low and hit the wall instead, shattering the rock and leaving a loud noise. As the dust settled, a crack appeared on the wall.

Zuko starred wide eyed at the teen who snapped his fingers frustratingly and tried again. This time he hit the mark and the barrel exploded instead. The Yu Yan was nowhere to be found.

"Must've fled." he said. "Warn me if you see him."

The firebender kept a lookout while the swordsman took out the arrows around his legs effortlessly. Once freed, the two of them promptly left town.

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Katara found her brother furbishing the new black sword he had made at Piandao's over the winter. He working meticulously, yet his heart wasn't it. Finished, he played with it for a while trying to cut the various pieces of bones he had gathered. The warrior grinned with satisfaction and sheathed his new beauty. He then proceeded to sigh overdramatically.

"I miss Suki!" he wailed like toddler.

The girl tried not laugh too hard at her brother's antics. Sokka whirled around to glare at the woman who would dare laugh at the mighty tribesman, but his expression softened to mildly sour when he saw his sister.

"Oh, hey Katara," he said coolly. "Where's Aang?" he said, looking behind her. When he saw how suddenly her expression changed he suddenly became serious "What's wrong?"

"It's Aang," the young waterbender told him, "He's kind of depressed."

She told him about the avatar's recent melancholy, and her brother nodded at all the right times. She then voiced her own worries before letting Sokka think about Aang's problem for a while.

"You know what?" he finally said, "Maybe we should have a trip to the Earth Kingdom."

Katara didn't know if she had to be annoyed or amused. "You're just saying that because you want to see Suki again," she remarked, hiding a smirk.

"Of course!" admitted the teen without a hint of remorse. "But that doesn't mean I'm not right," he argued back. "You know Aang; he never liked staying in one place for too long," the young warrior argued back.

Looking at the issue from that side, Sokka had a point; Aang was an air _nomad_ after all. Maybe all he needed was a bit of traveling. It was worth a shot in any case. She also wouldn't say no to an occasion to see some old friends herself – she had made so many during the last year, and she really couldn't ask them to come and freeze their butts off in the South Pole. She was warming up to the idea already.

"Maybe you're right," she mused.

"We'll go meet with Toph and Bumi and the Kyoshi," he added cheerily. "It'll be great for everyone."

"It'll be good to see the whole GAang again." She added. She hesitated, thoughtful, before adding. "We could even send letters..."

But she didn't voice the entirety of her idea. Instead she looked expectantly at her brother, who quickly figured who he was talking about. He went mute, and his gaze hardened just a bit. Not by hate or contempt, but by guilt. If anyone had ever told him that he and his sister would one day miss the Fire Nation prince, he would have laughed hard, before promptly bonking the insane person with his club.

"Feeling guilty about Zuko;" he said, toying with the idea, "how ironic."

"But It's not right, Sokka!" said her sister. "After all he went through: he taught Aang, he helped you get dad out of prison, he helped me with mom." And from her voice, Sokka could tell how much these deeds had affected her. "We shouldn't just shun him like that."

"It's not him I'm worried about," said a serious man, "it's the rest of them."

Katara turned around at the familiar voice; "Dad."

From the look of things, the village chief had been there for awhile. Katara looked at him, doubtful. From the way her father spoke, she was beginning to think he didn't believe the war was over. Why? In fact, since the end of the war Hadoka seemed to have changed. She didn't like it.

The man shook his head. "But you're right; I think we should at least tell him we're okay."

The bright smile she showed him reflected on his face. The prospect of meeting the whole team again definitely looked more enjoyable. Katara was sure Zuko would understand once they saw each other again. Sokka, still thinking about his responsibility to his village, gave his father a look of askance.

"What about the trip?"

Hadoka rubbed his chin. "Well... how long would you be gone for?" he asked back.

The young tribesman thought about it and answered "A month, I guess."

His father grinned. "Well, I guess a vacation never hurt anyone. Just make sure you hurry back son; I'll have some plans I want you to look at."

Sokka beamed at the prospect of seeing Suki again. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he shouted, already at the front door "Let's go tell Aang the news!" and just like that he was off, leaving his family with amused grins on their faces.

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After an hour of walk, Zuko's mysterious rescuer simply left the road to sit under the nearest tree. The still shackled firebender blinked, shrugged and simply followed. He sat down across him.

"Thanks" he said, bowing. The swordsman let out an impatient grunt. The royal runaway frowned. The other teen lowered his eyebrows as well, but in a contemplative manner. Zuko figured the boy recognized him, but after a minute of silence, he let out an exasperated sigh and decided to shed light on his identity.

"Listen, I'm—"

The swordsman raised a hand before the Fire Lord could finish his sentence. "Wait a sec," he said, only adding to the firebender's annoyance.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to figure out why I saved you."

Zuko's eye twitched – the young man was really starting to test the limits of his patience. "You mean you don't even know that!" he snapped. "Do you even know who—"

But once again the fighter in red shushed him, this time with a glint of recognition in his eyes. He took out a stack of papers from inside his robe, going through a few of them. When he found, he chuckled. "Oh! That's funny!" he said before laughing.

Zuko had been getting more and more frustrated by his rescuer – the guy was insolent and strange, like a bad mix of Aang and Sokka. But that laugh acted like a cold shower on the Fire Lord. Something about it was… off, unnatural, unnerving. He looked at the parchments the swordsman was holding and identified one of them as wanted poster; suddenly things made a frightening amount of sense to him. It seemed like the young man had no idea about the recent events. He stiffened – if he remembered well, there was a 'Dead or Alive' mention under his name.

"You'll get nothing from that poster;" he said hastily, "I've been pardoned already."

The swordsman, who was still laughing eerily, finally calmed down. "It's fine," he said as he waved the thought away. "I'm not after money," his vacant eyes became alive yet distant for a moment, "not anymore anyway. A force of habit I guess." He shrugged, and stood. "Raise your hands, your highness."

Zuko did as he was told, putting his shackles as far away from his body as possible. The other lad took out his sword and cut the chain in one swipe. The Fire Lord was impressed the cut was so clean – no pressure, no tug and the young man didn't even need a support. He was still cuffed, but at least he could now move around freely. He thanked the sword user again.

"Don't sweat it." he let out. And with that said he left.

"Wait!" ordered Zuko. The swordsman stopped to look at him. The runaway was speechless; he had so many questions going through his head at the moment, finally he settled for "Where are you going?"

The strange traveler looked thoughtful for a moment, and then shrugged. "Dunno," he clearly admitted as he resumed his walk. "Don't get killed now."

Zuko snorted before leaning against the tree. "It wouldn't matter much at this point; I've lost everything." He sat down to think about his current situation. Really, what could he do? What good would it do to simply go back? He'd literally have to start a purge to strengthen his throne and refused to become like his father – he was doomed to fail from the beginning.

He sighed, looked up and there was the swordsman, looking straight at him with a piercing gaze.

"W-what?" asked the wary Fire Lord.

"You haven't lost everything."

Zuko stood up and stared at him angrily "How can you say that?"

"You don't look like you lost everything," he restated.

_Of course I did_, thought the bitter prince. _I lost everything: my mother, uncle, the rest of my messed up family, my friends, even my nation._

_...but not Mai._

The Fire Lord's eyes grew wide. "I still have Mai," He whispered, still under the shock of realization. He wanted to slap himself silly for forgetting his girlfriend. And she was in danger now that Azula was back. He had no idea what his sister would do to Mai if she found her first.

He had to go back! But how? Who could he trust? And the answer came as suddenly as the questions: The White Lotus. He had reinstated General Jeong Jeong; there was no doubt his troupes would be loyal to him. And then there was Master Piandao… suddenly the prospect of returning to power didn't look so bleak anymore.

First things first though. He rose up, suddenly alive, with a determined look on his face. "I have to go back!"

Zuko then looked towards the swordsman, who gave him a sad knowing smile, before turning away to leave. The Fire Lord caught a glimpse of his vacant, dead looking eyes and then it hit him. "You…" he started, but he found he couldn't finish that sentence.

The other boy said nothing, but turned around and started to walk. The firebender had another question to ask him. But as he went after him he heard a voice behind him.

"Not a step further, your highness."

The Fire Lord, recognizing the voice, turned to his left, and sure enough the stood his bodyguard. "Khan!" he said,

"Fire Lord Zuko, I challenge you to an Agni Kai," yelled the traitor, "and this time I won't take no for an answer!"

"This is treason, Khan," Zuko told him once again. "Besides, the Agni Kai is a fire duel; you're not a firebender."

"You know very well there is a no bending variation of the Agni Kai." Khan retorted.

"Wait, wait; back up for a moment." said the mysterious swordsman, suddenly back in the conversation, "You're the _Fire Lord_?"

Zuko snorted. "So what if I am?" he asked back with guarded expression.

The other teen shook his head. "Nothing," he said, but whistled appreciatively. "Not every day you get to meet _the_ big shot." But the small interest turned into confusion. "But then, why were they trying to kill you back there?" he asked.

Khan answered before Zuko could. "Because he only got his throne through the avatar; the rightful ruler is still lord Ozai." The Fire Lord glared, but the young soldier remained unfazed.

The rescuer gave Zuko a pointed look. "Z'at so?"

This little question settled, Khan returned to the issue at hand. "Fight me, lord Zuko!" he pressed. "Your honor won't let you refuse a legitimate challenge."

Zuko was thrown in yet another problem. It's not like he didn't want to fight that no good traitor, but they were a couple of things he had to think about first. One, he was unarmed – so much for fair duel. He could probably borrow a weapon from the other swordsman – what was his name anyway? – but he wasn't proficient in single style sword fighting. Which led to his second problem; even if he had his trusty dao, would it be enough to tackle a fully trained fighter like him? Finally, even if he could, could he end up not killing him? His thoughts were interrupted by a cough coming from his earlier savior.

"If I may, _your highness_," he said as he made a mocking, exaggerated bow, "I could fight him for you if you want," proposed the young man.

"Mind your own business, peasant!" warned Khan, not in the mood for useless fights.

The Mystery man blinked before smiling sarcastically at Khan. "Funny. Aren't you a swordsman? There was a man who used to tell me about a swordsman's code," he mused. "I remember one of them said something like 'to raise your sword against your country is the greatest dishonor'... something like that." from the way he said it he cared for the code as much as Khan currently did, which he confirmed by saying "Not that I pay much attention to the rules myself; I don't give a rat's ass about royalty."

"Why would you do it then?" wondered the Fire Lord.

"Because I'm curious," he answered carefully. "That guy actually looks like a strong swordfighter."

"According to the ancient rules of Agni Kai, I choose..." he stopped and fixed his rescuer. "Your name, swordsman?"

"Shun…"

"…I choose Shun as my champion and as such, he shall fight in my stead."

The swordsman shrugged at the form, while Khan sneered. "You're a fool your highness! After my victory you'll have no choice than to come back with me."

As for Shun, he had something to say as well. "I'm curious: why did you accept?" he asked. "You're pretty much entrusting your life in the hands of a total stranger."

Zuko wore a grim smile. "I know, but already owe you my life. I don't have a weapon either way."

"Interesting," simply said his temporary champion.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll desist," warned Khan arrogantly. "I'll have you know that I'm the greatest student of master Zhen."

Shun blinked. "Master Zhen? Who's that?"

"Fool," sneered the soldier. "Very well then; have at you!" he said drawing his sword and striking a pose. The other man simply grabbed the scabbard of his sword with his left hand. After a moment Khan finally snapped "Well, what are you waiting for? Draw your sword!"

The wanderer shook his head and smiled condescendingly. "Please, don't mind me and attack."

"You'll regret insulting me!" said his opponent as he lunged forward.

Zuko was impressed by the intensity of the fight. The speed of Khan's attack made him understand clearly why he had been chosen for the job. Still, he was a bit disappointed – it seemed he would have been able to take him on himself. Now Shun was another beast altogether; he dodged, weaved, swayed, ducked and sidestepped each blow like it was child's play. Not once had he drawn his sword, which only served to infuriate Khan and turned his fine swordsmanship into a mess of angry swipes and stabs.

Finally, the soldier felt left he had been humiliated enough ran straight at Shun, sword raised. As he was about to strike a sword came out of nowhere and stopped at an inch of his throat. Khan's movement came to a full stop. The young was barely able to articulate a "...w-wha?"

Shun sighed and sheathed his blade. "If I really wanted to kill you," he said, "you'd be already dead." He then snorted. "And if you want me to fight seriously, you should do the same, don't you think?"

The young soldier looked like he had been slapped. Still he controlled his anger and made a slight bow instead. "I sorry; I might have taken you for granted," He admitted. "I will not hold back from now on; I hope you're ready," He said, to Zuko's surprise.

The wanderer snorted again. "About time," he muttered. And this time he drew his sword.

The fight shifted in intensity with the first attack. Khan went first and swiped high, aiming for the jugular. Shun reared back, moved forward the moment his opponent's blade missed him and lunged. The traitor spun around the outstretched sword and brought down his raised sword… which was parried just as fast.

Zuko had barely the time to register each of their movements. He was completely outclassed; there was no way for him to match the two blurs fighting in front of him, even with two swords. He smiled bitterly, glad he hadn't met those two while he wasn't an accomplished master firebender; called a sword prodigy by his instructor, he probably wouldn't have been able to take the blow. Well, at least now I can see the level of master class swordsmen.

The fight went on for awhile, and for a moment Khan seemed to have the advantage. Unfortunately he didn't notice Shun's disappointment. Their spectator did however, and shivered. _You mean after all that he wasn't even serious?_ And as if to answer Zuko's question, the wanderer's expression became grim, and his next strike overpowered his opponent. Khan sneered, and tried to strike with the same intensity only to be repelled and almost topple over.

From then on, each blow Khan received threw him out of stance. He couldn't even parry without being pushed back. Then when he started to retreat, Shun's pace intensified to a degree that he had barely the time to position his sword at the right place.

"What's this?" he managed to ask between blows, "I've never seen such swordsmanship. What style is this?"

Shun was pleasantly surprised. "You know about styles," he complimented. "That's better than most, I guess. Still you should really choose a style for yourself, you know."

Judging the lesson was over Shun made a fast step inside of his opponent's range and raised his sword, disarming his foe in the process. Khan fell down from the strength of the blow. Zuko's rescuer looked his downed opponent and rested his blade against his shoulder.

"You have skill," he acknowledged, "but it's obvious you've only fought against other conventional swordsmen. You're 20 years too early to fight me.

Suddenly Khan was thrown back into a memory dating of last year. Finally able to best his master in duel, he had set out to fight other sword masters. After a three duel winning streak, he lost to almost every other one. The one defeat that stood out the most was by an old master. Could that 'Shun' be…? He couldn't believe it. The two of them didn't even have the same style! …Yet the way he had over powered him, the way he had been played with… They were so _similar_. But…

"That... that can't be?" he half stated, half wondered. He refused to believe it. "You! Who's your master?" he asked Shun.

"My… master...?" repeated the young man, and a moment later he was lost in though.

Thinking it was his chance to seize; Khan grabbed the sword lying next to him and tried a stab. His opponent spun to the side and brought down his sword in an instant. A moment later, half of Khan's blade fell on the ground. _He cut through my sword_, thought the panicked swordsman, _what kind of monster is he?_ He lifted his head to find that Shun was smiling at him, his eyes suddenly very alive.

"My master," he said, coming to a sudden realization. He then looked down at Khan. "Thank you," he said, with genuine gratefulness, "I just remembered something I had to do before dying."

And just like that, he but his sword back in his scabbard and made for the road once more, under the incredulous stare of the Fire Lord himself.

The soldier quickly recovered from the shock and called out to him. "Please, tell me the name of your master." The wanderer gave him a cold stare, making him flinch. At first it looked like he wouldn't answer, as he had turned around once more. He made a few steps before uttering a name, almost like a curse. "Piandao."

He said nothing more and left the other teens staring at his back and then staring at each other. Their past grudge was temporarily forgotten; crushed under the unbelievable news they had just heard.

_Master Piandao, the greatest sword master of the world, had a pupil._

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**A/N: Hey, New Chapter out! Enjoy!**

**PS: Let's pretend Sokka never mentioned to Zuko he trained under master Piandao (did he?)  
**


	4. The Pupil and the Master

**Avatar: The ****Kaiser Phoenix**

Book of the Black Flame

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Disclaimer: You know the drill: Only the OCs and the ideas are mine, the rest belongs to Nick.

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**4****. The Pupil and the Master**

"_Master Piandao didn't take students."_

"_Actually, he took two. The last one was a Water Tribe boy – I think it was Soki? ...Suka? ...Saku?"_

**Zuko and Shun**

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Neither Zuko nor Khan were able to get over the blasting jelly that had just been dropped: _Piandao_ had a student. The undefeated sword master and legendary warrior had gotten himself a pupil and no one knew about it! It was surprising to say the least, since any non-firebender that was anyone in the Fire Nation had tried to become his student; they were all denied of course. Rumors even told that the Deserter himself, tired of his firebending skills, had come to Piandao for lessons only to be flat out refused at the swordsman's gate.

In the end Khan, and to lesser extent Zuko, looked at the leaving teen with envy. _What does he have that I don't_, they were probably thinking – that is, until they remembered who they were and the tricky situation they were in. The Fire Lord gave his ex-employee one last look before he left.

"Goodbye Khan."

The young soldier tried to stop him only to let his hand fall helplessly by his side. He had lost in an Agni Kai, what else was he supposed to do? He picked himself up when Zuko left his field of vision and slowly headed back where he came from.

Lady Azula was _not_ going to like this.

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The exiled Fire Lord had needed to sprint for a while in order to catch up to his savior. Here he was looking for support from the White Lotus, only to find one of their members right under his nose – or at least his pupil. He wasn't someone to believe in fate, but he'd be damned if he let an opportunity pass like that. Plus, with a man like that by his side the trip to Master Piandao was that much safer.

However, as he got closer to the one named Shun his ardor wilted. His swordsmanship was amazing, but how could he be sure he was really his student? If he, the prince of the Fire Nation had been refused, what made this guy special enough to be recruited, and more importantly, how come none knew about it? Surely such news would have made some sort of smoke. He steeled himself; he was about to find out in any case.

Zuko ran past the wandering young man and stopped in front of him, hand outstretched, catching his breath. For how long had he be running anyway? Getting another look at the mysterious Shun, he really didn't look at all like someone who had done all the unbelievable things he had. If he had to describe him in one word, it would be plain.

The swordsman was wearing a black, traditional looking coat, with dark red trousers, somehow reminding the Fire Lord of Piandao's attire. They were stitches everywhere – must be his only set of clothes. Other notable features were the metallic glove he wore on his left hand, and the sword by his waist, which by the look of the scabbard alone showed it was custom made. His clothes hiding most of his build, Zuko could only guess he had toned muscles, like any swordsman, but nothing too showy from the size of his attire. His face was plain, and the only thing that drew his attention apart from Shun's dead looking brown eyes was the stubble. Another noticeable trait was his tanned skin. His unruly dark hair was tied into a pony tail and reached the back of his neck.

Well, enough with the inspection.

"So, you're a student of Master Piandao?" he said, getting directly to the point.

The swordsman frowned. "…Sort of." He gave him a pointy look "What's it to you, young highness?"

"Master Piandao didn't take students," sated Fire Lord Zuko.

"Actually, he took two," corrected Shun. "The last one was a Water Tribe boy – I think it was Soki? ...Suka? ...Saku?"

He was still fumbling through the name, but Zuko stared at him incredulously, already figuring out the name. "Sokka?"

The swordsman looked up "Yeah, that's him," he said. "You know the guy?"

He didn't want to believe it, but it made sense somewhat. What with the black sword and his sudden progress in swordsmanship. In less than a year he had gone from someone he could have beaten bare handed to a fearsome swordsman, and in his case, only a man like Piandao could have operated such a miracle.

"He's... an idiot." Zuko saw Shun blink, sighed, and added "He's also the strategist of the avatar."

The swordsman nodded, but felt the gaze of the Fire Lord on him still. He shook his head, a wry grin playing on his lips. "…You don't believe me, do you?"

"I just want to make sure you are who you say you are."

Zuko had no trouble understanding Sokka's involvement with the master swordsman, but that didn't give the shadow of credibility to Shun's statement. If anything it made it less probable. Now Master Piandao had not one, but two pupils? And no one knew about them? Maybe he only thought chocolate skinned people. It was kind of hard to accept. Or at least it was until the boy pulled out his master's seal out of nowhere.

Zuko's eyes widened. "That's...?"

"His emblem, yes?" he finished for him. "'Means I'm not lying."

He shook his head. "No, this… this is the proof of succession," he recognized still in disbelief. "Who _are_ you?"

Shun looked shocked for a moment, but suddenly his mood became even darker than before. "...The bastard," he muttered.

Zuko looked puzzled by Shun's sudden gloominess but decided to drop the subject; he had other matters to attend to.

"Are you going to master Piandao's domain?"

Apparently, the swordsman was getting tired of this little interview, because he stopped. He sighed deeply before glaring at Zuko. "What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

The Fire Lord did not flinch. "I'm going with you," he told him.

Shun looked at him for a while before answering "Whatever." He started to walk again. "You'll need an Ostrich Horse."

"Why?"

For sole answer, Shun whistled. Moments later a mount trotted towards their position. A brown ostrich horse, common enough, except for the numerous scars around its beak and claws. Besides that though, it looked like the mount had just about seen every kind of climate there was judging from the mass of its legs. He had to admit he was impressed, he had seen few people able to train those animals to track from afar – perfect for stealthy movement and missions that required a quick and effective getaway.

"Where did you found it?" he asked, curious.

"_If_ found _me_ while I was traveling. After that it kept following me," he explained before he muttered "Stupid bird." under his breath. The Ostrich horse must have taken offense to that because it pecked Shun right behind the head. The swordsman eye twitched before he his hand came to his scabbard. "Oh? Do you want me to cut you up? Is that it?" he said, preparing to draw.

As the young man and the animal stared at each other Zuko could only blink. This was a rather weird guy he was now traveling with.

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It took a few hours to reach the next town. Zuko and his companion could have returned to the previous village but the Fire Lord thought otherwise; his cover was already blown there, not to mention he wasn't welcomed. So they walked there, in spite of Shun's ostrich horse; it seemed the swordsman was in no hurry to meet his teacher, much to the chagrin of the firebender.

The place was fairly big, and favored the travelers in two ways. First, it was easier to find a mount – rural towns tended to overprice the few precious animals they wanted to sell. Second and must important however, was the opportunity to go unnoticed. For that reason, the first thing they bought for the Fire Lord was a new set of traveling clothes and a straw hat – a cloak wearing traveler in the heat of the fire nation looked suspicious; a man wearing a hat to protect him from the sun? Not so much.

Next came the mount. Zuko only had the money he had gotten from the Lao clan, and it was dwindling quite fast, so he was looking for the cheapest one he could find. That immediately took out komodo-rhinos or other fancy stuff; he'd have to settle for an Ostrich horse. Looking around his eyes fell on a black one – these creatures were usually sold dirt cheap as they were rumored to bring bad luck. A quick inspection told him the bird was in top form too.

A small pouch of money later, Zuko and his new acquisition were heading to the weapon shop. Once inside he looked around appreciatively at all the weapons on display. The various blades looked dangerous; moreover, they looked like they had all been made expertly. Looking at modest the owner, the whole thing felt shady to the Fire Lord.

"What's with these weapons?" he asked the shopkeeper.

"Ah, you know your stuff eh?" the merchant slurred. "These are the latest batch of supplies they were supposed to send to the war front. I got a connection in the army and well, I got these beauties now."

"Got any good Dual Dao?" he asked, grimacing at the one he was currently testing. _Too heavy._

The man at the counter grumbled as he went in the back shop. Zuko decided to look around a bit more in the mean time. He was looking at the heavy weapons when the shop keeper came back with three sets of twin swords. The one of the right caught his attention; they weren't decorated as well as the others, but they felt right in his hands.

"Why are buying those?" a voice asked.

The firebender nearly jumped when he heard the voice of his companion. Shun paid no attention to his surprise and went on. "Aren't you a firebender?"

"I'm quite good with dual blades," he replied, before adding "Using my bending might give me away."

The swordsman nodded absentmindedly and left.

"So?" he said back to the man behind the counter, "How much for this pair?"

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Soon after that they were on the road again. Traveling with someone, with a different get up from before let Zuko breathe easier. And doing so on ostrich horses made things that much pleasant. The Fire Lord was looking ahead, but couldn't help himself from glancing to his side from time to time. Shun must have noticed, but he said nothing. Finally, Zuko pushed his mount closer to his companion hand motioned him to stop.

"Shun. Would you mind if we sparred?" he asked as he dropped from his ostrich horse.

Zuko couldn't stop himself; he had seen him fight against Khan and had to concede that the two of them surpassed him in skill. On the other hand, the opportunity to face the pupil of a legend didn't come often.

The swordsman stayed his mount, but did not dismount. "I don't do spars," he replied.

The other teen frowned. "You're denying your _Fire Lord_?"

Shun looked annoyed, which in turn only served to deepen Zuko's frown. Piandao's pupil sighed.

"I don't do spars, because I never had one," he explained.

The Fire Lord blinked. "You mean you studied the sword without practice fights? How did you learn in the first place?"

The young man snorted. "The hard way."

"Still, I want to fight you."

Shun shrugged and got off his Ostrich horse as well. However, his eyebrows rose when he saw Zuko draw his Dao. "You're a firebender – if you want to fight me, use your bending," he said.

Zuko blinked – that was an unusual statement if he ever heard one. He snorted before answering back "You shouldn't underestimate me."

The swordsman shook his head, his wry grin returning. "Who's underestimating who, young highness, I wonder?" seeing his opponent in a fighting stance, Shun took his scabbard in his left hand and positioned himself into a drawing stance. "Fine, suit yourself."

Zuko backed away, deciding to keep to the basics for once. The first thing his sword instructor had taught him was to be able to gauge the range of an opponent. This part was crucial when forming any kind of strategy. And so the dual Dao user, having the shorter reach, decided to slowly approach from a safe distance. However he found himself falling back at about three meters from the other swordsman instead.

Shun hadn't move an inch, ready to draw at a moment's notice. Zuko grunted in frustration. Was he afraid? Had the prior duel made him apprehensive? He shook his head. He could do this – it wasn't like he had killed Khan. He lifted his foot but found himself unable to move it forward because he had the clear impression that if he did he would be cut down. _What's this? I can't… I can't go further! _

Shun smiled genuinely for the first time he had met him. "Oh? It seems you found my reach – Interesting."

The eyes of the scarred teen widened at the realization._ That's his range?_

The swordsman dropped his stance. "Let me to show you something cool then," he said. Shun looked around for a small rock, took one that was along the road, and threw it. As it fell in front of the Fire Lord, Shun quickly took his previous stance and drew his sword. A moment later, two pieces of rock fell at Zuko's feet, cleanly cut in half.

_That's insane!_ thought the Fire Lord. No matter the way he looked at it, it was impossible for the swordsman to cut that rock with his sword from where he stood. There was only once conclusion from the runaway. "You… you're a bender?"

Shun took offense to that. "I am_ not _a bender!" he said.

"Then how…?" asked the Fire Lord.

Shun said nothing. Instead the still offended swordsman mounted his steed and rode off. Zuko shortly did the same.

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It took another day to reach Piandao's domain since it was on another island. After Shun's little show of strength, he and Zuko had traveled in an uncomfortable silence… at least for the firebender. Besides that, he was still trying to figure out the trick behind the swordsman long distance slash.

"This doesn't look good."

He was shaken out of his thought and looked at Shun. The young man was looking straight ahead, a grim expression on his face. As he eyed what was in front of him, Zuko noticed a faint trace of smoke.

"Could it be…?"

"Yeah, it's coming from his place," answered the swordsman.

Zuko nodded, and both pushed their mount from a calm trot to a sprint. In a span of a few minutes, the small trail had barely grown; a bad sign. Whatever had happened there, it was now over. Still they rushed on, and a half hour later, they arrived at the destroyed gates of Piandao's domain. The Fire Lord and his companion entered the place warily, and were surprised to find corpses littering the place.

"Some battle." Shun murmured.

Zuko shook his head sadly recognizing the Fire nation armor they all had in common. "An invasion most likely," he commented. They walked each in different directions and suddenly the Fire Lord called for Shun. "Come here," he said; his voice darker than before.

The young man arrived near the firebender to find one of the only two corpses not wearing armor. Ignoring the several wounds and ripped clothes, the man had a serene look on his face. Shun blinked a couple of times as if to confirm the images his eyes were conveying. After a while he started shaking.

Zuko stared at Piandao's student with understanding. He knew where the kid was coming from and put a hand on his shoulder to share his sympathies. He quickly took it back when he heard something that startled him. He stared confused at the teen who was chuckling.

Shun eventually stopped and looked at the carcass of his old teacher. "So you finally decided to croak old man. Couldn't have waited one more day, huh? Or maybe you were afraid of me."

That was more than enough for the scarred firebender. He picked Shun by the coat and they made eye contact. The anger of Zuko was blazing in his eyes. "How can you say that! How can you even laugh? Isn't he your _sifu_?"

The young man snickered "_Sifu_. Yeah, that's a good one – that guy never taught me the anything other than painting and maps! All he ever did was beat the tar out of me and send me on mindless errands. I learned to fight by myself," Shun said bitterly.

"That can't be true!" retorted the hot blooded teen. He couldn't decide which was more absurd: the legendary master Piandao being such a poor teacher or Shun being such a dangerous _self-taught_ swordsman. "People would do anything to get Piandao to teach them," he reminded his companion.

Shun snorted. "Yeah? Ask that Sokka guy next time you see him."

Zuko was at lost. _How can he treat Master Piandao with such a lack of respect?_ Then he thought of something else. "Then why the emblem?" he asked.

The swordsman blinked, visibly taken by surprised by the question. "I guess that's his twisted sense of humor," he replied after a while.

Zuko let out a sigh of frustration and ignored his companion, instead focusing the on the dead sword master. After taking a closer look at the remains of Piandao, a troubled frown appeared on his face. "What's this?" he asked, once again getting Shun's attention.

Piandao's pupil noticed an unusual wound around his chest, probably the one that felled him. "He wasn't killed by the army," he concluded.

Zuko nodded. "Seems so." Even if the yard filled with soldier corpses pointed to the opposite. The Fire Lord explained his reasoning "These wounds," he noted, "those are normal sword strikes and spear stabs. Only light wounds, no vital areas. But this one…" he said, pointing at the strange one, "Stab _and_ burn."

"Exactly," agreed Shun, "That wound wouldn't have been made by a normal fighter. He would have to be both a weapon user _and_ a firebender." He paused before adding "Like you."

The Fire Lord was immediately on the defensive. "I didn't—"

"I'm not stupid young highness," replied an annoyed swordsman, "you were with me the whole time and he died a few days ago at most. And no offense, but I don't think you'd be able to take down the old man." Zuko took none. Shun let out a small smirk "I am curious though; I wonder who was strong enough to off the old man." After another moment of silence, Shun shrugged and made a formal bow to his old teacher.

"Let's go inside," he said to the Fire Lord.

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The place had apparently been ransacked. Scrolls and brushes and the occasional broken desk littered the ground. After a bit of looking around, Zuko found nothing pertaining to the White Lotus.

"This is bad." he said, "The Fire Nation is on to the—" He stopped himself just in time. He then mumbled to himself. "there's no other way to explain what happened here."

Unfortunately, Zuko had forgotten the last battle the members of the secret order had fought in was directly against Fire Nation troops. Of course anyone part of that organization would be branded a criminal. Iroh had forbidden him of even mentioning the name in the council, and in the end it seemed to have made things harder for the White Lotus; no one would find it odd if its members were arrested, at least not in this nation. And nobody would care besides Ozai. Not even Azula – she'd be too worried about him being alive. He had to warn former general Jeong Jeong before it was too late.

Lost in his thoughts, the scarred young man barely noticed his companion turning over a toppled desk, only to reveal a secret compartment. Zuko quickly approached the swordsman in order to get a glimpse of the scrolls he took out of the hiding spot. Recognizing the White Lotus symbol on most of them he sighed in relief. At least not every secret had been seized; there was still time to issue a warning.

As for Shun, he noticed, the young man was much more interested in a small parchment. He was reading it intently when suddenly he looked surprised. He began shaking again and this time he let out a laugh even more unnerving and sinister than the one he remembered from their first meeting. Had he looked more carefully, Zuko would have seen the piece of paper he was reading withering and crumbling under his grip. Finally, the swordsman backed to wall only to slump against it. By that time a heavy silence reigned.

"Are you… Ok?" finally asked the Fire Lord.

Shun lifted his head a bit disoriented. "Who, me?" Zuko shivered when he met his gaze; his eyes had returned to their vacant, almost dead like state. "Yeah, perfectly fine;" he answered, "Nothing in there I didn't already know," he said, raising his hand only to notice he had destroyed the letter. "Oops." He shrugged. "Anyway, don't worry about me young highness – this is just par compared to rest of my life."

Zuko nodded. He decided it would be good to look around for more clues before looking for other members of the White Lotus. After a half hour of exploring Piandao's land, he came back to the mansion to find Shun at the same spot, with the same dead look in his eyes. The Fire Lord felt pity for the young man. He remembered how distressed he had been only a few days earlier and how that young man and snapped him out of it. And now, it seemed his companion had simply decided to stop living. The scarred firebender hardened his resolve; there was no way he was going to let him rot away like that. He approached the swordsman and crouched near him.

"Shun," he tried. Piandao's successor drowsily met his gaze. "What are you going to do then?" he asked him.

"Me?" The swordsman seemed surprised by the question. It was like all that was left for him to do was to rot and die. "Eh, I dunno," he answered truthfully. "What are _you _going to do?" he asked back, "You were looking for Piandao as well."

"I wasn't exactly looking for him; I'm actually looking for the White Lotus," corrected Zuko

A small spark of life lighted Shun's eyes, only to die out again. "How do you know about them?" he asked suspiciously.

"My… Uncle was the Grandmaster." he narrowed his eyes. "How do _you_ know?"

He took out a black Pai Sho tile with a White Lotus on it. "That's the only thing he gave to me." He snickered before adding "That and that stupid emblem."

_Hmm that might work,_thought the Fire Lord. The young man was acquainted with the White Lotus, so he could be trusted for sure. And requesting his help was the perfect way to his mind out of the gutter. That black Pai Sho tile looked suspicious, though – he'd have to ask about that later.

He cleared his throat. "Shun, since you have, uh, nothing to do at the moment, would you consider accompanying me?" The swordsman gave him a blank stare. Zuko took it as his cue to continue. "I'm basically trying to take down my crazed sister and my father, the previous Fire Lord Ozai," he explained. "I'm not sure I trust my own army, or any of my nobles. In fact I don't really think I can trust anyone not related to the White Lotus at the moment. Every move that I make is bound to be extremely perilous." He stopped when he felt the gaze of his companion being a bit unnerving.

"Your point?" asked the young man.

"I need a bodyguard." Zuko stated.

Shun frowned. "Basically, you need a comrade on your suicide mission," he translated.

The Fire Lord winced at the accusation. "Yes." he admitted. "I could order you to do it, but I'm willing to hire you." He added "You'll be paid if we survive," when he remembered the wanted posters Shun had under his coat.

The swordsman looked at him for awhile before shrugging. "When do we leave?"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Toph used her nimble feet to raise an earth pillar just in time to block an oncoming boulder. She was far from relaxed however, as she had no idea where the next attack would come from. The old coot was a crafty one. Fortunately she heard his steps coming close, with no harmful intent.

"I think that's enough for today, my dear," he chirped brightly

The little earthbender let out a breath of relief. "Man, you really don't know how to hold back, do you Pops?" she asked playfully.

Bumi chuckled at the moniker. "Nope," he answered, "Never learned in a hundred years. Should I start now?"

"Not in a million years!" bellowed the Blind Bandit. "I was actually starting to get rusty," admitted the girl before letting out a sigh. "Man, who knew peace would be so… so…"

"Peaceful?" tried the old Master.

The little earthbending prodigy had to laugh at that one. "Yeah! It's so boring I almost wish something would happen."

Toph really liked Bumi. He was crazy – _her_ kind of crazy – and to top it off, he was a strong as he was extravagant. In fact, the whole city of Omashu was appealing; the streets were bursting with life and the social classes were barely noticeable. She couldn't be happier about her vacation.

In the months that followed her adventures, the self-proclaimed 'best earthbender of the entire world' was back to her boring life as the noble daughter of a noble and prestigious family. Make no mistake; Toph loved her family. That didn't stop her from wanting to pull her hair out from the constant pampering and doting she was subject to; it was like she had never left to save the world – with a little help from Aang, of course. Unfortunately for her, the rest of her hometown was very aware of her abilities – heck, there wasn't a single soul in the Earth Kingdom who hadn't heard about the world's first and only metalbender. As a result, no one dared measuring their strength against her. Being beaten by a twelve year old girl, really? She was the nightmare of the manliest men everywhere.

Desperate for a distraction, she had asked her parents for a trip to Omashu. At first, the town seemed like a repeat of Gaoling, with the people there walking on eggshells around her – either because of the Bei Fong name or because of her notorious reputation. That lasted until she met Bumi. He was a breath of fresh air. He'd fight, he'd tease, he'd do crazy stuff... he was the father she always wished she had.

The King of Omashu thought about Toph's claim as they made their way to the audience room. "Well, how about a bit of training then?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I hear they're recruiting for new Dai Li members back in Ba Sing Se," he mused aloud.

"Dai Li?" Toph scoffed. "Please – I could take them all with my hands tied behind my back!"

"Well I know that," said the old man. "I just thought you would want to learn their moves."

The child had to admit the idea was tempting – she had always wanted to try her hand at those earth gloves they wore. And if she could learn that damn useful sliding move and incorporate it into her arsenal... There was one major flaw to that plan however.

"But I'd have to join them," she countered.

"Not if you have a recommendation letter," he said smugly.

She beamed; now she _really_ liked that old man. "You'd do one for me?"

"Of course dear," he assured her "After all, I chose you to be my heir."

Toph froze in her tracks. "_What?_"

"Didn't I tell you?" asked the crazy King. "Oh well."

The slacked jaw the girl had was slowly turning into a smile. "You can do that?"

"Well, Omashu was always ruled by the strongest earthbenders," he explained. "I think you fit the bill."

The Blind Bandit tried to compose herself. "So basically, you're telling me I get to be king just because I'm awesome?"

"Uh… Queen," he corrected.

Toph made a fist pump. If that wasn't recognition for her true talent, nothing else would be. "Can this day get any—" she suddenly stopped as she felt a very familiar sensation coming their way. "No way," the earthbender incredulously let out, "it can't be!"

To confirm her suspicions, the little earthbender stomped the ground hard. A moment later noise was heard, followed by a whiny voice.

"Auugh! Toph!"

The girl beamed. "Twinkle Toes!"

She ran the rest of the audience room and found her friends waiting for her – including an airbending massaging his back. Toph snickered.

"Hey guys! Guess who's the future boss of Omashu!"

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Shun might have had few words of respect for his departed master, but he still insisted on burning his corpse. Zuko decided to do the same for the rest of the soldiers – how someone could have ordered this attack and not even pay respect to the soldiers appalled him. Piandao had a funeral pyre built for him; for the others Zuko simply burned down the estate – with Shun's consent.

It was late in the afternoon before the two could set out, so night caught them far away from any kind of civilisation. From the way he settled for the night, Zuko could see the swordsman had been travelling a lot – that and he had no qualms sleeping under the starry sky. As for the Fire Lord he thought at first that all this outdoor stuff would have left him uncomfortable, but wasn't surprised when he found he had settled in the routine like a second nature. The six months he had spent in the palace couldn't erase the three years he had spent either at sea or as an outlaw.

The two young men were silently watching the food cook. Zuko found the silence duller by the second so he decided to get better acquainted with his new bodyguard.

"So, Shun," the boy blankly looked at him, "What's your story?"

The young man eyed him for a while before answering "My story isn't the kind that's told around fire camp."

Zuko chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so. Still talking is better than this dull silence."

The young firebender knew the him from a year ago would have disagreed. In fact, he wasn't keen on the idea of sharing a bit of himself to a total stranger even at the moment, but they both needed a distraction at the moment – at least Zuko did; Shun looked like he could clear his mind pretty well from his vacant eyes.

The Fire Lord tried again. "Okay then, how come you had no idea about me being the current Fire Lord?"

Shun shrugged. "I've been busy." Zuko stared. "You know, killing, trying not get killed... that sort of stuff."

The scarred teen absorbed the comment without judgment. Still it was curious for the disciple of a man known for his hate of war to be in such sort of situation. Shun was a mystery; he never let out much, and what he did left Zuko asking even more questions.

"So you're an assassin?"

"Nah, I'm nothing that extreme. I'm just your run-of-the-mill bounty hunter."

That explained the various wanted posters he was carrying. The Fire Lord nodded; that was probably the most he'd get out of his new employee. Having at least an idea of his occupation was much more than he had gotten out of the swordsman in the last week. He decided to change topic.

"Want me to fill you in on what's happening around the world?" proposed the firebender.

Shun kept silent, but his eyes were still on him, so Zuko began telling his companion about the recent events that had transpired and the vital role of the Avatar and his merry band in all of it. Of course he only went through the major news: the war opposing the Fire Nation to the Northern Water Tribe, fall of Omashu and Ba Sing Se, the day of the eclipse...

As he told his stories he was amazed he had survived all that – truly it must have been destiny... or rather, that was what he thought at the time. Now he wasn't so sure; did the spirits really want his uncle's death? After all he had done for them? After taking a young fool of a prince and set on the right path – path that led him to help their chosen one? If it was, then destiny wasn't fair.

Zuko finished his little recap by the time the meat had been roasted to consumption. Shun didn't comment on his story and instead took his food out of the reach of the flames. The Fire Lord waited to be sure the swordsman had no input whatsoever on the matter before asking "So? What do you think?"

Shun shrugged. "Nothing much; it's not like things changed that much."

"There's peace now!" Zuko retorted, annoyed by Shun's lack of concern. "Peace after a century long war."

The swordsman snorted in response. "Peace is overrated," he declared.

Zuko frowned. "Overrated?"

"Take a look at yourself," he calmly said.

The Fire Lord opened his mouth, fully intending to put his bodyguard at his place, but he closed it and went to grab his own food instead. Shun was right; if his throne could be usurped that easily, without making any waves after two weeks, then what had he been fighting for?

"Even if you were still back the palace my opinion wouldn't change, young highness," added Piando's pupil. "I've been pretty much around the Earth Kingdom for the past few years and I only came back here only a month ago. The only thing I noticed since the Avatar brought an end to the war was an increase of bounties and criminal activities – hardly 'peaceful'," he noted.

So that's where he was coming from. Zuko had seen for himself how the war had affected the other nations – this had been the major reason he had felt the need to join the Avatar's cause. He had thought things would get better since Ozai defeat, but after only a few days of flight he had seen how nothing had really changed – either inside of the Fire Nation or outside. He had focused so much on peace and on support of the nobles that he forgot about the most important group of his Nation: the people. Well at least he knew what he'd do when he got back on the throne. He would focus on the need of loyal subjects – after he dealt with traitors that killed Uncle, of course.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

Toph could easily put this day as the best day ever. As if becoming even more awesome and being rewarded for said awesomeness wasn't enough, now her friends had come to visit. Of course she didn't admit out loud, but she had missed the group, especially Sokka and Aang – She had nobody to annoy or bully in her hometown. It didn't help that her parents frowned upon such improper behavior. Thankfully, she'd get to fill her urge for mischief. First thing in order, spend the evening testing Aang's reflexes.

"Toph! Would you quit it!" the young airbender quipped.

"Never! I can't believe you actually got sluggish Twinkle Toes," she said condescendingly. "As your _sifu_ I'm very disappointed in your lack of training; maybe a day or two of sparring is in order," she added, with a glint in her eyes.

"Katara," wailed the boy, now very afraid of her old friend, "Toph is being mean!"

The waterbender giggled. "Now, now Toph," she scolded mockingly, "you shouldn't be too hard on Aang, he just got here." She became thoughtful. "You're right though," she let out airily, "it has been a while since I've practice with my best pupil as well. Maybe I should join you on your training session," she teased winking at her friend.

Both girls laughed merrily while Aang groaned and sought refuge within the open aired garden where his skybison rested.

"Appa" he yelled, "Toph and Katara are been mean!"

The earthbender sighed contently – she lived for that kind of entertainment. She turned around to face Sokka and Suki who had just entered the room.

"So, what's the plan guys?" she chirped happily.

Sokka scratched his head. "We were planning to go visit Iroh in Ba Sing Se."

Toph beamed. "Great! That's where I'm heading. This is gonna be fun!"

"Yeah, like good old times," Katara said.

The earthbender's smile curved. "Speaking of old times," she said, "where's ol' grumpy?"

The other three looked at each other "Ah well…" the waterbender tried.

"You know he's busy." Her brother finished.

At this time, Aang came back and listened eagerly to the conversation.

"Restoring the Fire Nation must take all his time," reasoned Suki.

"But I'm sure he'll be at Ba Sing se," Katara said hopefully, "I mean – I sent him a letter before we left."

Toph knew her friends were right, but it didn't prevent her annoyance. "No good jerk. He'd better be there!" she threatened, slamming her fist into an open palm.

The airbender cleared his throat. "…Is something wrong Toph?"

"Yeah," said the Blind Bandit, "he owes me a life changing trip."

Seeing their blank expressions, Toph let out an exasperated sigh.

"Twinkle Toes leaves with him, and he comes back after seeing dragons with a new lost firebending. Sokka gets to save missy here and his father in the most exiting prison escape ever, Katara gets to go get revenge and comes back all enlightened, and what do I get? 'Uh Toph, I don't think this is a good time.'" By then she was fuming. "Oh! I'll show him a 'good time'!"

The others couldn't help but laugh.

_**/-/ /-/ /-/**_

**A/N: Last time I try to update on Valentine's Day. Anyways, new chapter! In case you're wondering, Shun's my reply to benders versus non-benders. Seriously, the only people worth mentioning were Hadoka, The Machinist, Piandao and Ty Lee - and of those only Piandao and Ty Lee stand their own against them. Anyways, enjoy.  
**


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